TITHING AND : 
PROSPERITY 


By A LAYMAN 


also 


A TITHING AUTOBIOGRAPHY 


Published by 


THE LAYMAN COMPANY 
143 NO. WABASH AVE. 
CHICAGO 


ial 


FOREWORD 


The title for this little volume, ‘‘Tithing and Pros- 
perity,” was chosen deliberately. 

While in the minds of most people prosperity means 
temporal gain, yet there is no better word to describe 
soul growth and spiritual progress. Selfishness, that 
bane of the race, is fatal to both of these, and experi- 
ence shows that there is no antidote, no prophylactic 
so effective both as a preventive and a remedy for 


selfishness as tithing. : 
Layman.” 


EXPLANATORY 


The reasons for publishing these selections from 
the Layman pamphlets are: 

First: To aid tithers, especially beginners, in 
understanding the How, the Why, and the Results 
of tithing. 

Second: To put in condensed form for preserva- 
tion what I regard as the most important portions of 
the tithing literature we publish. 

The waste basket is the usual receptacle for 
pamphlets and tracts. 

I hope this little volume will escape that fate and 
that the autobiography may aid in preventing it. 


Layman. 


*The Layman Company is the name “Layman” incor- 
porated. 


CONTENTS 


Selections from Layman Pamphlets 


PAGE 
2, ‘‘What We Owe and How to Pay It’’...........46. ns! 
19S Howastombithe and aw, bys. clare eieletale lee sierra 13 
12,\*“Does-Vithing Payer ieee ac vis’ «sss o> 5 soleil 18 
16," Talks With Money’ jivccs 2.7 5 als oss Sonc,su:s ween 32 
10, ‘‘Christian Service for Laymen’’...........-...-00. 43 
11, ‘‘What We Owe and the Results of Teaching It’’...... 46 
1, ‘‘What We Owe and Why We Owe It’’.............. 51 
20, ‘‘Proportionate Giving’’ by Robert E. Speer......... 55 
20, ‘‘How to Inaugurate the Tithing System in the 
Local Church’’ by Bert Wilson ................. 57 
15;-“*Letters to Editars on Tithing”. ....0.... <. 35.0540 60 
8, SA Tithing ‘Autobiography 02.0.5... 3's sie 6 beens 65 


Selections from 


What We Owe and How to Pay It 


“Why should I devote a certain definite proportion of my income to 
God and His work in the world?” 

The first and very much the most important reason is, because it is 
God’s law, or principle, if you prefer the word, having its origin in the 
mind and will of God; and the second, because you thereby promote 
your spiritual and temporal interests. In short, it pays. Pays in the 
highest and best sense of the word. Pays in spiritual blessings, pays in 
temporal prosperity, pays in peace of mind in having a question of duty 
settled. Transfers from you to your Heavenly Father the responsibility 
of how much it shall be; permits Him to decide whether it shall be little 
or much as He prospers you. 


“I am afraid I cannot afford it.” 

It is natural that you should name this objection first, as it is the 
chief obstacle with nearly all Christians. But you-can. If you will try 
it you will keep it up, because you will find that you cannot afford not 
to do it. I mean in dollars and cents. Your objection is from the 
temporal standpoint and so is the reply. Did you ever try it? Ever 
know a business man, professional man, farmer, or worker for wages 
who had tried it and was not more than satisfied with the results? 
Thousands, tens of thousands of laymen in the United States and other 
countries are doing it and have been for years. If there are exceptions 
they ought to be known. 


“Is it not wrong to appeal to my love of gain in this matter?” 

Do you not pray for God’s blessing on your temporal affairs? Do 
you mean what you say when you do? Do you not daily ask for the 
promised wisdom that you may be guided by it in all your duties? Do 
you keep your business, or daily labor, or your profession separate from 
your religion? Don’t you work for gain? Gain, that you may care for 
those you love and those who are dependent upon you? Gain, that 
you may give them every advantage within your power? Gain, that 
you may do much more than this: that you may have to give and do 
for others; that you may the more liberally aid and support those who 
give themselves to charitable, benevolent and Christian work; that you 
may give more for the spread of Christ’s Kingdom in the earth? Is it 
wrong to pray for temporal prosperity with these objects in view? 


“But are there no higher motives?” 

There may be, but it is the temporal side of the question we are 
talking about—the practical side to you and me. You and I are laymen, 
not ministers; we don’t preach; we are not missionaries. We may have 


3 


2 


to work hard and constantly to make ends meet, and care for our house- 
holds and loved ones. Yet we owe something to others, do we not? 
Something to God, in practical recognition of the fact that to Him 
directly or indirectly we owe all we have or possibly can have. 


“But we cannot pay what we owe to God personally.” 

True; but you can pay it through His agents, by which is meant 
your pastor, your church officials, your missionaries, in short, through 
every man or institution devoted to building up Christ’s Kingdom and 
depending for support upon the contributions of Christians and benev- 
olent people. 


“How much do we owe?” 
God says one-tenth, the tithe. Surely He should know. 


“Is this all we owe? Do we not owe everything to Him?” 

Certainly, inasmuch as everything really belongs to Him. There is 
only so much money, so much property in the world. That which you 
now call yours belonged to some one else before it came to you, and it 
will belong to yet another when you leave it, but while in your possession 
you are accountable for its use. God does not ask that you pay it all 
back at once, or that you transfer it to others, but He does ask and 
remember for your sake, and for your own good, for some constant, 
practical recognition of His ownership and your stewardship, Whether 
you accept the fact or not, you are His steward for the entire amount, 
and you, and not another, must render an account for all He lends you. 


“But did not our Savior tell the rich young man to sell all he had 
and give to the poor?” 

Yes; and God told Abraham to offer up his son Isaac as a burnt 
offering, but He did not let him do it. Suppose the young man had 
started in good faith to obey this command. Do you think the Savior 
would have permitted him to do it? Would he not have called him back 
and told him to regard his “great possessions” as talents to be used 
and accounted for to God, the real owner? 


“Was not tithe paying a Mosaic and Jewish ritual law only, and 
hence abolished by Christ?” 

No; no’more than the law of the Sabbath. Abraham paid tithes 
hundreds of years before Moses was born. So did Jacob. So, it is fair 
to suppose, did all the patriarchs. So did the Phcenicians, the Egyptians, 
the Chaldeans and, in fact, all the nations and tribes of antiquity to 
their gods thousands of years before the Jews had an existence. No 
fact in ancient history is better established than this. In giving the law 
to Moses the first mention of the tithe is the simple statement, “The 
tithe is the Lord’s.” Not shall be, but is, as it always had been, and it 
was at least twenty years after this before God directed that the Levites, 


4 


his ministers, should be supported from it. It was still longer before 
the tithes mentioned in Deuteronomy, xiv., 22-29, were instituted. These 
were clearly national and ritual, and expired with the Jewish economy, 
but the law of the “Tithe Terumoth,” God’s Tithe, did not expire and 
never will. 


“Did Christ commend the law of tithing?” 


Emphatically, yes. He said to the Pharisees, referring to Judgment, 
Mercy and Faith: “These ought ye to have done and not (referring to 
tithing) leave the other undone.” Can you find in His teachings any 
stronger language than this regarding the observance of the law of the 
Sabbath? Can you find any so strong? 


“Is there any reason why our Savior did not more strongly com- 
mend the law of the Sabbath as well as the law of the Tithe2” 


So far as the records show, He never spoke of the Sabbath or the 
Tithe, except to the Pharisees and other Jews, who did not need teach- 
ing on either subject, except in the line of reproof for their observance 
of the form rather than the spirit of both laws. 


“Do you mean to say that I should expect greater temporal pros- 
perity if I scrupulously devote one-tenth of my income to the upbuild- 
ing and spread of Christ’s Kingdom in the earth and that the remaining 
nine-tenths will go further in the support of those dependent on me 
than if I should try to keep all for my own use?” 

Yes. That is a plain question in plain English, and I mean just 
that. 


“Can you explain the reason?” 

No; or at least not fully, and there are many more of God’s laws 
which no one can explain. Gravitation, for instance, or how vege- 
tation grows, or how flowers are colored, or, to come nearer to the 
subject, I cannot explain why men and animals can do more and better 
work in one or ‘five years working six days in the week and resting, 
doing nothing so far as work is concerned, every seventh day. 


“Do not we and they need the rest?” 

Certainly, but just now we are dealing with facts, not theories and 
reasons, and the facts are that it pays in temporal prosperity to observe 
the law of the Tithe, just as it does to observe the law of the Sabbath. 
Can you explain why we need the seventh of time for rest? Why not 
the tenth or the sixth? 

The seventh of time and the tenth of income, or “increase” as the 
Bible has it, belong to God in a special sense, and while we can work 
seven days in the week and keep it up for years, and we can keep ten- 
tenths of all we make, we are poorer for it morally, physically and finan- 
cially, all the same. 


“Are there not strictly business reasons that will at least partially 
account for the increased temporal prosperity of those who tithe their 
income?” 

Yes. And yet it is hard to separate common sense and strict 
business matters and principles from God’s laws; in fact, it cannot 
be done. 

“Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.” Tithing the 
income leads to system-—is, in fact, system itself—and the harvest or 
reward of system in business, or labor, or farming, or professional life, 
is prosperity. 

Tithing our income is a practical recognition of God’s real own- 
ership of our substance, and His blessing naturally follows such recog- 
nition. It is a practical acknowledgement also of the claims of Christ 
and humanity upon us, and human nature is swift to respond to such 
evidence of sincerity by hearty words of encouragement and helping 
hands. But these are results, not causes. 


“Are there not other and deeper business reasons than these?” 

Yes. You believe a thing is right. In other words, you believe 
it to be your duty and have faith in it. By doing the thing itself you 
step into the line of your faith and duty, and you are at once and con- 
sciously a stronger, better and more self-reliant man. Your mind and 
heart broaden. Instead of receiving, you give favors, and you begin 
to realize the wealth of meaning in the Savior’s words, “It is more 
blessed to give than to receive.” 


“Do not the promises of rewards in the Bible for the payment of 
the tenth of income back to God refer solely to spiritual blessings?” 

No. They refer very largely—I am tempted to say almost wholly 
—to temporal blessings. The third chapter of Malachi is perhaps the 
plainest in the Bible on this subject. Read it carefully and see if you 
can torture its meaning into promises of spiritual blessings only. 


“You claim that the payment to God of one-tenth of our income 
always results in increased temporal and spiritual blessings. Suppose 
I concede the spiritual; are there no exceptions so far as temporal 
blessings are concerned?” 

I do not believe there are any exceptions worthy of the name. I 
submit the following facts as evidence, which you would doubtless 
accept as conclusive on any other subject: 

Since 1876, copies of this and similar pamphlets on the same sub- 
ject have been circulated among many thousands of ministers and mil- 


lions of laymen. In all were printed the following statement and 
question: 


“My belief is that God blesses in temporal as well as in 
spiritual things those who honor Him by setting apart a stated 


6 


portion of their income to His service. I have never known an 
exception. Have you? Please give me any facts within your per- 
sonal knowledge on this subject. Especially give the facts if you 
know of any exceptions.” 


“Am I to infer that I may hope and expect to get rich if I practice 
this system?” 

Emphatically, no. All that is claimed is that you will be more pros- 
perous in your temporal affairs than if you do not. Pay the tenth pre- 
cisely for the same reason that you observe the Sabbath, i. e., because 
it is God’s law. You do not keep the Sabbath to get rich or to make 
money, neither should you pay the tenth for that purpose, yet you know 
you are better off in your temporal affairs for keeping the Sabbath, and 
practically all who have ever tried it are uniform in their testimony 
that paying the Tithe brings God’s blessings upon their temporal affairs; 
in short, they have found by experience that He keeps His promises. 

But remember that paying the Tithe will not alter natural condi- 
tions. It will not make rich land out of poor; it will not bring city 
trade to a village; it will not produce quarrels or bring sickness to a 
community, thereby enriching such lawyers and physicians as have 
adopted the rule. It will not take the place of brains or ordinary com- 
mon sense. Many other conditions might be mentioned which it will 
not change, because it has no connection with them. What I thoroughly 
believe is that you will be more prosperous if you follow this rule than 
if you do not; but be careful not to judge a whole life by a single year, 
nor to set up false standards of prosperity. 


“When should I commence tithing my income?” 

Now—to-day. Count what money you have on hand and put aside 
one-tenth of it. Add to this one-tenth of all you receive from day to 
day, week to week, or month to month, and draw from this fund as 
you have calls for aid in behalf of Christian work. 


“Do you recommend this as the best method?” 7 

Yes, for most people; especially farmers, men and women on sala- 
ries, wage-workers and all persons who are not accustomed to keeping 
accounts. Professional men, tradesmen and business men who keep a 
record of their income and expenses prefer, as a rule, to open a “Tenth” 
or “Tithing Account,” charging this account with one-tenth of their 
entire net income and crediting it with all sums paid out for Christian 
work. 


“You speak of ‘net income.’ What constitutes my net income?” 

If you are a farmer, it is all the money you receive for the products 
of your farm, the cash value of all your family consumes, and also the 
‘fair cash value of all you obtain by barter or exchange. From this gross 
amount it is fair to deduct, before tithing, all money paid for hired help 


7 : 


and taxes on your farm; also your cash outlay for seed, feed, insurance, 
repairs, etc. 


“Suppose my lands and stock increase in value?” 
Take no account of it until you sell them, or a part of them; then 
tithe the increase of price you receive above the amount originally paid. 


“Suppose I exchange the products of my farm for articles other than 
money?” 

Estimate the cash value of what you receive and put aside one- 
tenth of it. If you do not have the money, make a “ticket” of one- 
tenth of the amount and place it where you keep your tithe. When you 
next have money to redeem the ticket, do so, and destroy it. 

If you are a physician your net income is your entire income, less 
your professional expenses, such as office rent, medicines, cost of keep- 
ing a machine, etc. 

If you are a lawyer, substantially the same rules apply as to a 
physician. 

If you are a minister, it is the total amount you receive less 
traveling and other expenses connected with your parish and ministerial 
duties. 

If you are a merchant or a manufacturer or a banker, of course you 
keep accurate accounts. Your net income is the gross profits of your 
business, less strictly business, but not family or personal expenses. 

If you are a mechanic, clerk, or employe and wage-worker in any 
capacity, whether by the day, month or year, your net income is your 
total income, less legitimate business expenses connected with your 
work, such as car fare, etc. 


“Should I ever borrow from my tithe fund for personal or family 
use?” 

I very strongly advise against it. Many instances have been re- 
ported of this kind, and invariably with bad results as regards temporal 
prosperity. Your faith may often be tried in this direction, but you can 
and should withstand the temptation. A somewhat parallel case would 
be to suppose that you had borrowed money from a banker, and, after 
paying the interest, should go to him and ask to borrow the interest 
back again. Remember, after you have put aside or agreed to pay the 
tenth, it is no longer yours. You are simply an agent for its wise 
bestowal. 


“Is there not rather too much of ‘business’ in these arguments?” 

You and I being laymen, our religion and our business are insep- 
arably connected. We cannot separate them if we would. Our time is 
fully occupied with our business, and hence we must depend largely 
upon others to do our share of religious work for us. God has given 
others special talents for this work which He has denied to us. They 


8 


can do it far better than we can. They devote their lives to it, and 
we should support them. If we do this loyally and to the extent of 
our ability and duty we have a personal share in the results of their 
labor. They are our partners in the Master’s work. The books of final 
account are correctly kept, and we will receive due credit for all we 
do, whether personally or by proxy. Besides, the Bible is full of “busi- 
ness.” It contains the finest and most practical business maxims and 
directions ever written, and they are meant for practical use by prac- 
tical men. 


“Suppose I am in debt. Should I not pay, my debts before tithing 
my income?” ; 

No. As well talk about not paying the interest on the money you 
borrow to use in business because you owe your grocer or other debts. 
Your Tithe is of all debts the most sacred. Under such a rule, all you 
would have to do to escape all obligations to give or pay anything 
would be to keep in debt. Besides, the universal experience of the 
very large number who have commenced tithing while in debt has been 
that with the remaining nine-tenths they were able to pay their other 
debts-more easily and promptly than if they had tried to keep the whole. 
for that purpose. 


“Should I tithe my capital?” 

No.. Whether your capital is in money, or property, or brains,-—or 
hands, or all these, it is that from which you produce income. Pay 
proportionately from your income only. 


“Should I ever give or pay more than the one-tenth?” 

Yes, when you can afford to do it without endangering your ability 
to produce a reasonable income. But “give” is not the right word to 
use until the tenth, God’s Tithe, has been paid. “Be just before you are 
generous.” In other words, pay what you owe before “giving” any- 
thing. Giving or making free-will offerings cannot justly commence 
until the tenth has been paid. 


“Suppose I am able to support my family only by close economy; 
should I pay one-tenth?” 

Yes. And if for no other reason. than because the remaining nine- 
tenths will go further. 


“Strange logic that. Can it really be true?” 

I believe it to be absolutely true, and the reasons are based on the 
personal testimony of thousands who have tested it. Will you not try 
it and prove its truthfulness? Now, I admit that if you should do it for 
this purpose only, you would, or at least you ought to be, disappointed. 
But I take it for granted that you are a Christian; that you do want 
to honor God with your substance; that you do trust His promises, 


9 


and that you want to do your duty. With these motives you will not 
be disappointed. 


“To what objects should I devote the tenth of my income?” 

The most comprehensive and, to me, satisfactory answer is that it 
can be properly applied to every cause which has for its -object the 
upbuilding and advancement of Christ’s Kingdom, commencing with the 
free, strong and hearty support of your own church and pastor. 


“What does the advancement of Christ’s Kingdom include?” 

In my opinion it includes anything you give without expectation or 
hope of repayment, or even partial pecuniary reward, for the purpose 
of making people purer, better and happier through faith in Christ and 
faith in you as an unselfish follower of Christ. 


“What about what I give to Hospitals, Y. M. C. A., Red Cross, etc?” 


Charge all such gifts to tithing account. They are all “for His 
sake.” 


“Do I not get value received for my pew rents or for any sub- 
scriptions or payments I may make for the support of my church and 
pastor?” 

Certainly you do, and in addition you thereby gain a personal in- 
terest in the salvation of every soul brought to Christ through their 
united efforts. The fact is that we get value received and very often 
more, for all we do either in money or labor for good causes. — 


“Should I husband the tenth so as to be able to give largely to 
certain objects?” 

As a rule, no, except possibly to the benevolent agencies of your 
own church or denomination. The heart needs to be kept warm by 
constant giving, and only a very few can be both constant and large 
givers; but as regards both the objects and the amounts of your gifts 
—“if any man lack wisdom, let him ask of God.” 


“Suppose that for the present I am not quite decided to adopt 
tithing my income, but that I resolve to be more liberal. Will not 
that answer?” ; 

Liberal in what? Paying only a portion of your debt? You owe the 
Tithe. Liberality does not commence until that has been paid, 


“Suppose I give until I feel it?” 


Possibly you have inherited or acquired a “close” disposition and 
would “feel” the giving of a nickel or a dime when you ought to give 
a dollar; or you might “feel” the giving of a dollar when you ought 
to give ten. Or, on the other hand, you may have a naturally generous 
nature and, in order to “feel” it, would have to give, say, ten dollars 
when one, or two, or five would be nearer right. Feeling is not a safe 


10 


guide. God’s law of paying the tithe is a safe guide and it pays, literally 
and in every sense, to obey it. 


“Should every one, and by this I mean to include those who are 
not professing Christians, pay the tenth, and if yes, have they, too, the 
right to expect the promised rewards?” 

Yes; why not? A great many people who are not professing Chris- 
tians keep the Sabbath, and are not only benefited thereby in every 
respect, but for that reason are brought nearer to God, and their 
reconciliation to Him and acceptance of the Savior are made more prob- 
able. The same results would naturally follow observing the law of 
the Tithe. : 


“If I receive a gift of money or a legacy, should I Gevote the tenth 
of it to God and His work?” 

Yes; the remainder then becomes capital from which you may 
spend for other purposes, make free-will offerings, or invest for the 
purpose of producing income. 


“Suppose my income is derived from investments or from rented 
property, what is my net income?” 
It is all you receive, less the cost of collecting, taxes and repairs. 


“If I may deduct taxes paid on property rented to others, why not 
on my home?” 

Because taxes paid on your home are family expenses, just as rent 
would be if you did not own your home. In the other case they are 
business expenses, the rented property being your source of income. 


“In our gifts to different objects we are often in doubt as to what 
should or should not be charged to our Tithing or Tenth account. Can 
you give any general rule which will serve as a guide in these matters?” 

The rule commonly followed is to charge to that account all money 
voluntarily given, and the fair cash value to you—not to the recipient 
—of all else given to the cause of the Master or where the object is 
to do good in His name and where you never expect the return of either 
principal or interest. 

-If you have not already done so, will you not at once resoive to 
begin paying what you owe? No matter what your income, nor from 
what source it comes. No matter how old you are, or how young, you 
receive something. Set aside one-tenth of it. 

Do not think or say you cannot afford it! You can. You will not 
only have more money to spend for Christ, in doing good, but you will 
have at least as much, if not more, for your own use, if you do it. You 
cannot afford not to do it. 


“Sounds strange!” Possibly it does; but no stranger than that you 
can do more work and make more money in a year working six days 


11 


in a week than if you work seven. Thousands, tens of thousands, have 
tried tithing their income—are trying it—and their testimony is uniform 
as to its benefits, 

It pays! Pays in spiritual blessings; pays in temporal prosperity; 
pays in happiness; pays in embraced opportunities for useiulness and 
doing good; pays in a higher, deeper, broader, happier Christian expe- 
rience; pays in every good sense, 


“Don’t know your exact income.” You know approximately. You 
know what you have now; tithe that. Do it now! You know what you 
receive today—this week. Make the start. Take the first step. Light 
will come as you need it. You have your Father’s promises; take Him 
at his word. They include temporal as well as spiritual blessings. Test 
them by saying, “I will.” 


12 


Selections from 


How to Tithe and Why 


“What was the dominant searscate ot the Master’s life on 
earth?” 

Unselfishness, beyond question. “I came not to do mine own will, 
but the will of Him that sent me.’ He put God first. 


“What is the dominant natural characteristic of the whole human 
race?” 

SelAshness; again beyond question. In some form selfishness is, not 
like the love of money, a root, but the fundamental root of all kinds 
of evil. 


“Why is tithing an antidote to selfishness?” 

Because when you tithe your income as it is received, you put God 
first. When you refuse to tithe, or, in other words, when you refuse to 
devote in advance a definite proportion of your income to God’s service 
and work, you put self first. There is no dodging this fact and there is 
no middle ground. 


“What result does tithing have on the spirityal life?” 

Robert E. Speer says:. “I think every man will find, as every man 
who has passed through the experience can testify, that the acceptance 
of a principle like this, marks a distinct era in the enlargement of his 
Lites 


Can Tithing and Stewardship be illustrated in terms of business? 

Yes. The silent partner, God, furnishes all the capital we have or 
can have. The steward, the other partner, does his share of the work, 
pays the expenses, and retains nine-tenths of the profits. The. silent 
partner delegates to the steward the privilege and duty of spending his 
one-tenth of the profits in giving it to causes, people, and objects where, 
in his judgment, it will do the most good. The wise use of this one- 
tenth becomes one of the greatest and most enduring pleasures of the 
steward’s life. 


“Is the law of the tithe legalistic or statutory?” 

No. It is a fundamental law of God; hence cannot be either. The 
first definition of “Law” in the Century Dictionary is given as “A Rule 
of-action prescribed by authority; as, a law of God.” 

“Fundamental” is defined as “Pertaining to the foundation; original; 
as, a fundamental truth; a fundamental principle; a fundamental law.” 

Tithing is God’s fundamental law—or, if you prefer the word, tithing 
is a fundamental principle, having its origin in the mind and will of 
God. In all that I have ever written on the law of the tithe, I have had 
in mind this fundamental conception of its meaning. 


13 


To the average man, “fundamental law” and “fundamental prin- 
ciple’ mean exactly the same thing. We use them interchangeably 
just as we use the phrases “law of gravitation” and “principle of gravi- 
tation;” “law of attraction” and “principle of attraction;’ “laws of 
mathematics” and “principles of mathematics,” etc., etc. 

The law of the tithe, the tenth of gain, to be devoted to unselfish 
use and service, and the law of the Sabbath, the seventh of time, to be 
devoted to rest and worship, are both fundamental laws or principles, 
promulgated for the good of the race and are as old as the race—neither 
is statutory, legalistic or Mosaic. 

If the tithe is a principle, and it is, obedience to that principle is an 
obligation, a duty, a debt, hence the titles “What We Owe and How to 
Pay It,” “What We Owe and Why We Owe It,” etc. 


“Briefly, what evidence have you obtained that tithing pays the 
tither?” 

In pamphlet No. 2, “What We Owe and How to Pay It,” of which 
since 1878, millions of copies have been circulated, the following state- 
ment and question has always been published: 

“My belief is that God blesses in temporal, as well as in 
spiritual things, those who honor Him by setting apart a stated 
proportion of their income to His service. I have never known 
an exception. Have you? Please give me any facts within your 
personal knowledge on this subject. Especially give the facts 
if you know of any exceptions.” 

Forty years is a long time, but in all those years I have received 
less than one dozen letters the writers of which thought that they were 
exceptions. I wrote a number of these to learn the facts, and in every 
case found that the real reasons had nothing whatever to do with 
tithing. 


“What are the best tests of the results of tithing upon the tithers 
themselves?” 

The effect upon their character and happiness. Answering your 
question further, in 1913-14 the following question was published in a 
large number of religious newspapers: 

“Have you ever known anyone who was less happy, less 
generous, or less financially prosperous from being a tither?” 


“A ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ answer to the above question and statement that 
you Saw, iny thisy otter inthe ee will bring you by early mail an 
80 page booklet in which are given a large number of new testimonials 
regarding the results of tithing, both upon the lives and characters 
of individuals, and in churches. This offer is open for four weeks 
from the date of this issue.” 

More than 10,000 replied “No”; not one “Yes.” Do you know of 
any exceptions? In pamphlet No. 12, “Does Tithing Pay?”, eight 
pages are given to condensed selections from these replies. 


14 


What are the relations between Stewardship and Tithing? 

About the same as between a house and its foundation. Any other 
foundation than tithing for stewardship will, too often, when the winds 
and rains of adversity come, as they do to us all, prove to be sand. 


“Should non-church members tithe?” 

Yes. Why not? The law, or principle, if you prefer that word, 
of tithing applies to all. Besides, tithing, both with children and adults, 
is much more likely to lead to church membership than, judging by 
past experience, church membership is to lead to tithing. Everybody 
believes in the theory of Christian stewardship. Tithing is simply the 
theory reduced to practice. 


“Who receives the greatest benefit from tithing?” 

The tithers themselves. The benefits to others are secondary just as 
they are with all of God’s laws. He never established a law or principle 
that was not primarily for the benefit of those who obeyed it. This is 
just as true of his laws of health, of gravitation, of electricity, in short, 
of all so-called natural laws, as it is of all moral laws including the law 
of tithing. All, like the law of the Sabbath, were, in the language of the 
Master, “made for man.” 


“Should I not give more than the tenth?” 

I have never known, nor heard of anyone who did not give more 
than the tenth after practicing tithing for a year or two. Have you? 
Tithers call all beyond the tenth “Free Will Offerings.” But talk of 
giving more than the tenth by or to those who do not believe in and 
practice tithing, is like trying to solve problems in higher mathematics 
by people who have not learned and do not believe in the multiplication 
table. The multplication table occupies about the same relation to 
mathematics that tithing does to stewardship. 


“Should I give until I feel it?” 

Your question reminds me of the story of the old deacon listening 
to the annual missionary sermon. He had the usual dollar ready and 
wanted to give it. He also had a five dollar gold piece in his pocket 
which his conscience kept telling him he ought to give. Finally as the 
collector came to his pew he thrust the gold coin into the basket, 
exclaiming mentally, “There, old natur, squirm.” If you want to make 
“old natur squirm,” in other words, if you want to give until you “feel” 
it, don’t ever become a tither. To tithers giving is a joy. They are 
cheerful, or, as it is in the original Greek, they are “hilarious” givers. 


“Did Christ abolish the law of the tithe?” 

Ask yourself that question. Can you imagine Christ abolishing a 
fundamental law or a fundamental principle? His coming abolished a 
long list of sacrificial and ritual laws, all of which had their fulfillment 
in Him, but all moral laws, as you know, are eternal. 


15 


“What is the difference. between ‘giving’ and paying tithes to God?” 

All the difference there is between paying your banker the interest 
on the money he has loaned to you, and “giving,” making a present of 
it to him. God owns what you possess. You cannot “give” anything. 
to its owner. The Master never used the word “give” as applied to 
tithing. His language was, “Ye pay tithes.” “Ye tithe.’ The words, 
“tithe-giver” and “tithe-giving” are of recent coinage. See if you can 
find them in your dictionary. 


“Did the Master practice tithing?” 

We know little or nothing of the Master’s life between the ages of 
twelve and thirty. He was of Jewish birth, and was carefully instructed 
in the laws of Moses, who taught tithing. Doubtless He worked dur- 
ing these years, and hence had an income. Do you think He. would 
have said to the Pharisees: “These,” referring to justice, mercy and 
faith, “ought ye to have done,” and “not,” referring to tithing, “leave 
the other undone,” if He himself did not practice tithing when He had 
an income? In other words, would He tell the Pharisees, or anyone 
else, that they ought not to leave anything undone that He did not 
himself do. : 


“What is the basic reason why I should pledge myself to devote a 
certain definite proportion of my income to God’s service and work?” 
Because thereby, you in a practical common sense way, acknowl-. 
edge His ownership of all you possess and your stewardship for its use. 


“What is the most heartening and satisfying experience in the life 
of normal Christian men and women?” 

The consciousness of being used; the sense of working in harmony 
with God’s will, which is but another name for His always good, wise 
and loving laws. Instead of, with downcast eyes and folded hands, 
saying “Thy will be done,” to be able and willing, with squared 
shoulders, steady eyes and firm lips, to say “Thy will be done and I 
am ready to help in having it done, no matter how humble the duty. 


or task.” 
“Who sweeps a.room as to God’s law 


Makes that and the. action fine.” 


“Does tithing help in acquiring this experience?” 

Undoubtedly yes. Tithers soon become intuitively conscious of part- 
nership with the Infinite. The realization grows upon them that God 
is the real owner of everything they possess; that they are stewards, 
and that tithing is simply the acknowledgment of stewardship; acknowl- 
edgment, not verbally or in theory only, but in something tangible, 
something that can be weighed, measured or counted. They realize 
that stewardship, where the steward retains for his.own use a definite 
share of the profits, as in tithing, is real partnership. 


16 


“You say that tithing our gains is an acknewlodgment of steward- 
ship. In our prayers we always acknowledge our indebtedness to God 
for all the blessings of life. Many people seem to think that is 
sufficient. Do you?” 


Well, what do you think—is it? Are verbal acknowledgments of 
indebtedness sufficient in human relations? Will they satisfy our grocer 
or banker? Will they give us receipts in full if we verbally admit that 
we are indebted to them? Which, in everything, is the decisive test of 
sincerity—words or deeds? Which most honors God? Is “do” or “say 
the key word in the Master’s teaching? 


17 


Fc 


Selections from 


Does Tithing Pay? 


In “A Tithing Autobiography,” by “Layman,” the reader will find a 
full account of why I commenced the circulation of tithing literature. 
Briefly, it was to obtain definite answers to the above question, “Does 
tithing pay?” 

Pamphlet No. 2, “What We Owe and How to Pay It,” was first 
published about the year 1878. In all the millions of copies which have 
been circulated since that time the following paragraph has always 
had a prominent place: 


“My belief is that God blesses in temporal as well as in 
spiritual things those who honor Him by setting apart a stated 
portion of their income to His service. I have never known 
an exception. Have you? Please give me any facts within your 
personal knowledge on this subject. Especially give the facts if 
you know of any exceptions.” 


During the intervening more than forty years I have received 
thousands of replies to the above question—how many I have little idea. 
I am sure, however, that less than a dozen have written me that they 
thought they were exceptions. I wrote at least half of these to know 
the circumstances, and in every case found that their lack of prosperity 
was due to other causes than tithing. In most instances the writers 
seemed to think that tithing was a kind of insurance against even tem- 
porary financial loss. 


As further evidence that tithing pays, during the years 1913-14, the 
following question and offer were published in a large number of re- 
ligious newspapers in this country and Canada. 


“Have you ever known anyone who was less happy, less 
generous or less financially prosperous from being a tither? 

“A ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ answer to the above question and statement 
that: you ssaw.this’offerin the:........ >... will bring you by 
early mail an 80-page booklet in which are given a large number 
of new testimonials regarding the results of tithing, both upon 
the lives and characters of individuals, and in churches. This 
offer is open for four weeks from the date of this issue.” 


A total of more than 10,000 “No” replies were received; not one 
“Yes.” Only a small proportion of those who replied were satisfied to 
give a mere negative. In very many cases something was added in the 


18 


way of emphasis. While only a “Yes” or “No” answer was asked for, 
a surprising number volunteered a brief, and in many instances, a very 
interesting testimonial. Some were unique, and all evidently unstudied 
as the readers had no thought of publication. 

A good many years’ experience has taught the writer that facts 
have far greater influence than arguments. Here are about eight pages 
of condensed facts. Comment on them would be superfluous. They 
not only do their own talking; they do, or ought to do tkeir own con- 
vincing, 


TESTIMONIALS 


“I am twenty years of age and have been a tither for two or three 
years. I believe that for the best results from tithing, it must be begun 
in youth when the income is not so large. I believe it would be almost 
useless to appeal to our older members, or to many of them at least, 
to become tithers.” 


“In answer I say, ‘No,’ emphatically. My own experience is the 
very best proof to me.” 


“T am glad to give my testimony to the great blessing that has come 
into our own lives and the lives of others we know, through systematic 
tithing.” 


“My experience after ten years of tithing and almost 12 years in the 
ministry, is that they who really prosper and are generous and con- 
tented are the tithers.” 


“T have been tithing for about twenty-five years, and have also 
done all I could to get others to do the same. I have never known any 
one who was not happier or more blessed than if he had not been a 
tither. Of course, we sometimes have losses, and feel hard times, as 
at present, but in some way God always supplies the need when the time 
comes, and gives us the happiness of having something for His work too.” 


“Does tithing pay? I say ‘Yes,’ it does. I have always believed in 
giving a tenth to the Lord’s work ever since I was converted and I have 
found that the more generous I was in my own small way, the more I 
had to give. January lst, 1913, I signed a pledge (to myself) that I 
would give a tenth to the Lord’s work, and that I would keep an account 
of all receipts and expenditures. To my surprise today I find that my 
total receipts from all sources were $1004.25 and my giving has amounted 
to $110.60. I am more than pleased with the results it has brought. I 
am not a rich man, yet not poor. I work in a general store and I think 
my experience speaks for itself.” 


19 


“I will answer your question in this way: Five years ago I first 
became a tither. I tithed for two years. The next year I gave one- 
ninth. The next year I gave one-eighth. Last year I gave one-seventh, 
This year I am giving cne-seventh. If life be spared next year I want to 
give one-sixth. As a result I can truthfully say that I am more happy, 
more generous, and more financially prosperous.” 


“T have been a tither for about five years, and my experience has 
been that I am happier and my income has been more than doubled, 
almost tripled, since becoming a tither.” 


“One man in particular, the public school janitor, is giving not only 
his tithe to the support of his own church and her missions, but a few 
days ago gave $15.00 to a mission church in a neighboring village just 
opening. When I approached him on giving more than the Lord re- 
quired, his reply was, ‘I have not suffered any, it does me good.’ His 
very life is an expression of his love for the Kingdom.” 


“I know very little about tithing as regards other people, but I 
have proved in my own experience that ‘there is that scattereth and 
yet increaseth,’ ” 


“IT have known a goodly number of tithers and they have always been 
the backbone of the church. One family in particular are farmers, and 
every member is a tither. They have horses and carriages, an auto, and 
a piano all paid for. They take all kinds of religious-papers and buy 
many good books. They always give liberally to their own church and 
to other churches when in need. They are always looking for some 
poor family to assist, and their faces fairly shine with happiness, They 
have had much sorrow, but the dear Lord wonderfully lifts them above 
the sorrows of the’world for they can always say, ‘It is well with my 
soul,’” 


“I have been more prosperous since I began tithing than -before. 
It deepens.our spirituality and makes us feel interested in the Lord’s 
work. It will cure that disease of covetousness which is the special 
sin of old men.” 


“As to temporal prosperity, our experience is not so clear. For 
years we did not have an appreciable increase in income, but the last 
few years have been much better, and last year which was so hard that 
all around us even many wealthy men were losing greatly, yet it was the 
best year we ever had financially.” 


“I answer your question with a ‘No. I doubt there being any other 
correct answer to this question.” ; 


20 


“When I was in college I-began to tithe. During one year since, 
I ceased; but for eighteen consecutive years it has been a glad privilege 
to do so. A preacher’s life is his ministry. In that sense I have pros- 
pered. In two years it has been my privilege to see my church grow 
into a net increase of nearly one hundred, The tithers are conspicuous 
in all the gifts of the church, in philanthropies, charities and benevo- 
lences of the denomination. Of course, the tithers, almost to an indi- 
vidual, take the denominational papers for they want to know what 
their money is accomplishing in missions of all kinds.” 


“Myself and wife are the only ones in our church that tithe our 
income. I am a poor man, and God has given me money to meet all 
needs ever since we paid the Lord His tenth. We do more than that, for 
we make free will offerings, and are abundantly blessed with health and 
enjoy His Church greatly in every department. Our pastor told me 
we paid more for Missions than any other member of the Church, and 
we have some rich members. When there is a call made for money, 
ours is always there, and the collector does not have to wait or call 
again. It is paid on the spot.” 


“My mother was a widow for about 50 years. She worked hard, 
raised two girls, educated them in music and tithed. I am a widow with 
a son and daughter, and am giving them a Business College course, I 
teach music to support them. I more than tithe as the tenth is not mine. 
It makes us hustle and economize, but we have good health and are 
happy. When my boy was 13 he drove a grocer’s wagon during vaca- 
tion, earning $3.00 a week, but he paid 30 cents a week to the Lord. 
I love to give.” 


“Eighteen years ago when we began our married life, we did not 
prosper until we began to tithe and. pay the Lord His portion. Ever 
since we are happy, and each year we are increasing our gifts to the 
Church and the Lord’s work.” 


“In my life travels I have come in contact with hundreds of tithers 
and all were happy and prosperous.” 


(T say ‘No,’ emphatically. I have heard the most jubilant testimony 
to the benefits derived or atithiny on the boat of many. It has been 
my practice for thirty years.” 


“T decidedly say I have not. I do not know of any one tithing who 
is not much more prosperous, generous and happy than the average.” 


“T have known but one tither, who, in time of adversity, stopped 
tithing. I can positively say she is not now so happy, neither very 
generous.” 


21 


“I have never known any one who was a tither to be less happy, 
prosperous, or spiritual on that account. On the contrary, being a tither 
adds to one’s success and happiness, for it always pays to mind God.” 


“I am a Methodist preacher and some years ago I began to tithe 
when my salary was $850.00. I had been for one year on the super- 
numerary list of our conference, and had spent the year in the South 
for the benefit of my wife’s health. 

“At the close of that year when we returned all our money was spent 
and we were in debt about three hundred dollars. In spite of these cir- 
cumstances we began to tithe our income. I did not do this to barter 
with God for prosperity, but because I was convinced that it was my 
duty. 

“We never for one day have felt inconvenienced by our larger giv- 
ing. Today I occupy a better charge, we have paid our debts, do not 
Owe any man a penny, and have more money laid by than we ever 
thought would be possible in this length of time. I am convinced that 
God honors His word, and no man will suffer for obeying and paying 
what he owes to God.” 


“When in Sydney, Australia, I knew a man who started tithing, who 
was then a comparatively poor man; a baker by trade. He prospered 
wonderfully and gave largely. He used to say he “could not send out of 
the front door goods and money for the Lord as quickly as the Lord 
sent them in at the back door.’” 


“Personally, I know one tither who never prospered until he took 
God at his word and proved Him, and who now finds that he prospers 
more in proportion to the amount he exceeds the tithe.” 


“No. How could it be less with the promise of God telling us it 
shall be greater?” 


“Your tithing literature sent to me while I was a pastor of the 
DEE i A Ae Church in Kansas, rescued the church from financial 
troubles. The record shows the greatest gain in the history of the 
Church. I have resigned pastoral work and am in the Evangelistic work, 
partially due to the wider vision tithing literature gave me. I am 
organizing tithing Bands in every Church in which I hold a meeting. 
We are to organize a band here all of whom are to join in the Tithe 
Covenant. There are some 45 or more who are to become charter mem- 
bers of this Club.” 


“About a third of a century ago ‘Layman’ sent out some leaflets 
commending the joy and duty of tithing, one of which was entitled 
‘Thanksgiving Ann, or the House-top Saint’ I am very anxious to 


22 


obtain a copy of that story for use in connection with a campaign in 
the interest of tithing. Possibly you can furnish it, although I fear it 
may be out of print. But it was too happy a conception to permit to 
become lost.” (It is still in print and as popular as ever.) 


“The results of distributing the pamphlets were very satisfactory, 
and there was a marked increase in the offerings. Out of a membership 
of about 160, I should judge there are 50 tithers, and about all you have 
to do when you need money for a worthy cause is to ask for it. Your 
literature has been very helpful wherever I have used it.” 


“Through the foolishness of (your) prea uine I sunita ‘giving’ 
and have been Paying for some years. It pays.” 


“Answering your question, No, I never have and am not expecting 
to. It does not work that way.” 

“No, happiness, generosity and prosperity go along with tithing.” 

“T wish to answer your question by an emphatic ‘NO. In all my 
experience and observation of large numbers of tithers and non-tithers, 
I think I can say that without exception the tithers are more generous 
and, of course, are happier in their religious life. They are seldom or 
never to be found complaining of ‘hard times’ or ‘poor crops’.” 


“T answer emphatically ‘No.’ The only objections I have heard to the 
plan of tithing have come from those who have never given that system 
a personal trial.” 


“T have never known any one who was less happy, less generous, or 
less financially prosperous from being a tither, but I know of several cases 
directly the opposite. I know a man who is at the head of one of the 
largest manufacturing companies in this country. He is a tither and a 
Mem petmotmthe. secescs «eee ees Church, of which I am also a member. 
I doubt whether many people are happier than he.” 


“Three times I began tithing and prospered, and three times I quit 
(I could not tell why) and lost out, coming down to scratching good and 
hard on the bottom before I would have courage to start again. I am 
now tithing again and prospering. I never expect to cease as I think I 
have had lessons sufficient.” 


“No, most emphatically no. I never knew one who was less happy, 
less generous or less financially prosperous from being a tither. Your 
tithing pamphlets over 30 years ago led us in the tithing matter. We 


23 


never have regretted it and never expect to give it up. We have ‘proved’ 
the plan and ‘proved Him’ as Malachi suggests.” 


“To your question I answer emphatically NO. Many are helped spirit- 
ually and their business made more systematic and more prosperous by 
tithing.” 


“From both experience and observation, I can answer most emphatically 
No, to the question at the lied! of the?Offer"in the: /.2. eee 


“I know of two cases where the paying of a faithful tithe has brought 
the promised blessing, and of one instance in which a seemingly good Chris- 
tian who knew the great and timely doctrine, failed to comply with its 
demands, and has been a failure, financially, when everything seemed in 
his favor.” 


“I was helped years ago into the grace of systematic and propor- 
tionate giving through your tithing literature, and I had the pleasure of 
developing a New York City church in the same grace. As a new pastor 
in this field, I am surprised to find so few members of our -church here 
who are even. systematic givers.” 


“In vanswer_to your question-in the.:.....s.acorecsse I most emphati- 
cally say, ‘No.’ It is my pleasure to have several tithers among my intimate 
friends. -and I must say that they are the happiest, most prosperous and 
most.liberal. givers of all my acquaintances, besides being the most active 
Christians.” 


“What few tithers I have known have all been staunch supporters of 
tithing and most active in Christian life and work. I never knew a tither 


+99 


to cease the system. So I guess I can answer ‘No’. 


vAN can speak from personal experience too. My blessings have been 
doubled since I commenced tithing.” 


“No,. J. have. not found anyone who was less happy, etc. from being a 
tither,.and I.have.met many. I have also helped a good many-to begin 
tithing.” 

“At our annual meeting of the Woman's Foreign Missionary Society 
OLSSIese yo Discttaa. cee Conference, Methodist Episcopal church, fifty 
women came forward and stood by the-church rail testifying that they had 
adopted God’s financial plan and that it had wrought both temporal and 
spiritual blessings for them. How can you get people to really believe God? 


24 48 


They do not believe Him or you could not keep them from being tithers. 
They say, ‘Oh, I am not going to keep accounts, it is too much trouble.’ 
Unless they believe Him, how can you convince them it is worth the 
trouble?” 


“In answer to your question will say that those of my acquaintances 
known -to be tithers are in quite moderate circumstances, yet all are gen- 
erous and happy in their giving.” 


“T wish to record my answer, ‘No.’ My husband has been a pastor 
for twenty-five years and has given this subject much careful attention 
and extensive investigation. We have in every case noticed marked im- 
proved temporal conditions when people carefully tithed.” 


“Every tither I have known testifies that they have seemingly -had more 
for themselves after they became tithers than they had before.” 


“The greatest hinderance to tithing in my Presbytery is the indifference 
of the ministry. The leading pastor puts giving on the higher plane of 
our being bond-slaves. He is a tither himself; but his attitude moves few 
of his members to tithe.” 


“Husband and I tithe, and Oh, such blessings we receive. We can do 
more good than we had any idea. The special work we do now is to educate 
a boy in China; one in Africa; and we have a Bible teacher*in India.” 


“For a number of years I have been tithing my income, and no mat- 
ter what the prospects have been I have given as agreed and have never 
enjoyed giving as much as since I have been a tither. The Lord has pros- 
pered me as never before and I am doing all I can to get others to adopt 
the same plan.” 


“T have been a tither for years and have watched it in many ways. 
Tithers are the people who do things for the Lord. I have just received 
pledges from 42 of our people recently that they will begin tithing. I want 


x99 


to organize them into a ‘Band’ and ‘go after business’. 


“We have built a new brick church that cost $18,000 and we are now 
$8,000 in debt. So some weeks ago the pastor let me have 15 minutes of 
his time of the Sunday morning service, to see how many tithers I could 
get to commence the Ist of January and tithe a month. We got 73. Our 
church membership is about 300. On the 2nd of February in the evening 
we are all to meet at the Church and bring in our tithes. We will have 
our Orchestra, song service, a short talk from our pastor, and then an 


25 


experience meeting of how we have been blessed by tithing. We shall 
then see how many we can get to tithe for February. In this way I think 
we can pay off our church debt and get many to tithe regularly, which: will’ 
be a great blessing to them.” 


“IT have been a tither for more than five years. Each year has seen 
God’s tenth a little larger. I know many tithers, but I know none that 
are unhappy, penurious, or less prosperous because they are tithers. ‘Lithers 
are as a rule, a happy, generous, well-to-do lot.” 


“I know a hundred or more tithers among the young people (Epworth 
Leaguers)..ofcour. Church in sthe 2... 5... District. The testimony of 
all is the same, that God has kept His promise and poured out blessings 
beyond anything they had ever even hoped for. The movement is spread- 
ing among the young people, who hope in time to convert the older mem- 
bers (so many of whom are indifferent) to God’s plan of finance. Have 
you any tried plan for getting this matter before the Church members 
in a city district? The Epworth League has speakers—members of the 
District Cabinet—who keep the matter constantly before the young people, 
but there seems to be little effective work among adults. Some pastors 
seem indifferent. We are praying over the matter. Perhaps you can give 
a suggestion which will be an answer to our prayer.” 


“I reply only good has come to any one I have ever known who has 
used the tithing system—myself included. I have been wonderfully b'essed 
ever since I adopted the tithing plan.” 


” 


“No; never have I seen any one, nor do I expect to. It certainly does 
increase your money store to give.” 


“My experience, after seventeen years of tithing, is that I am happier 
and my husband has been very prosperous, It has stimulated us to greater 
generosity.” 


“I wish to say ‘No.’ My convictions are that tithers are always more 
prosperous, contented and happy.” 


“No, I have not known any one who was less happy, less generous, 
or less prosperous from being a tither, but the opposite. Prosperity 
follows tithing, both spiritual and financial.” 


“I can give an emphatic ‘No’ to the above question, and this answer 
is the result of my own experience of many years and of a wide observa- 
tion as a minister for almost half a century.” 


26 


“Of all the men whom I have known to have their noses down on 
the grindstone good and hard—and I have known hundreds of them-- 
not one were tithers. God keeps faith with those who obey Him.” 


“About twenty-three years ago my wife and I received one of your 
leaflets on tithing and we have been tithers ever since. We are certain 
that we have been blessed both in temporal and in spiritual things because 
we have persistently given a tithe.” 


“Quite a number in our church are faithful tithers, but I have never 
been able to find out the exact number, although I have distributed blanks 
for this purpose upon different occasions. Evidently for some reason many 
of our tithers do not publish the fact.” (This is not only very common, 
but very natural. They almost never do except when the object is to 
induce others to become tithers also.) 


“Again and again have I heard the statement by different tithers in 
our church, ‘I have been greatly prospered since I began to lay aside one- 
tenth of my income for the Lord’s work.” 


. 


“About seven years ago one of our Deacons passed through an ex- 
perience of sorrow when he seemed to lose all heart and was one of the 
most dispirited of men. Three years ago a great change seemed to come 
over the man and he began to show the keenest kind of interest in life 
again and I began to realize that he had sprung into the front rank of 
our givers. Last evening, in our Thanksgiving testimony meeting, he told 
us the cause. He said, ‘For the past few years I have been giving one- 
tenth of my income; a new joy has come into my life and I have been 
prospered in my income, in my health and in my soul’ He is net only 
constantly surprising some group or society in the church with sume special 
gift, but is taking the keenest interest in Foreign Missions.” 


“Tn one church where I was pastor, the Ladies’ Aid chose to tithe 
rather than have socials, etc., to raise money. The result was that about 
four times the amount was raised as was during the previous year. The 
attendance at the Aid was about doubled and they became the main spiritual 
force of the church.” ; 


“Wife and I have our own native preacher in China which takes part 
of our tithe and we are always delighted to think of our work going on 
all the 24 hours, for when we cease here, our Chinese preacher is at his 
work. . . . I was well acquainted with a man who in the 60’s moved 
from Illinois to Kansas. When he landed in the town OLS eee ee he 
had a yoke of oxen and fifty cents, a family of five; and was a botch 


27 


carpenter. He had a deep sense of Christian duty, and like Jacob, he made 
a vow on the first night of his stay in the town: ‘Of all that thou dost 
give me I will surely give thee a tenth. He traded his oxen for some 
vacant town lots and mortgaged them for money to build with. Before 
he had the house,done, he sold it for about twice what it cost him. He 
built and sold and was soon able to cease the carpenter work and only bought 
and built. His tithe at that time was more than $1,000 per year. He pros- 
pered and praised the Lord; but hard times came, grasshoppers came. 
Investors ceased to come. There was much interest to pay and our good 
friend kept back the Lord’s tenth. When he was bankrupt he said to me: 
‘I can trace the downfall of my fortune to the very day I kept back the 
Lord’s tenth, and I believe today if I had kept my vow with the Lord I 
would now be a rich man instead of a poor old bankrupt with debts staring 
me in the face.’ Then he said to me most earnestly: ‘Neill, never keep back 
what is the Lord’s’.” 


“May I say that I have tried to be a tither for years. For some periods 
I have neglected this method of giving and invariably when this has been 
done, I have had the harder time to make my monthly check meet the 
accounts, but when I was faithful all the time to tithing, I found that our 
expenses seemed to be below our income, and I was able to have more 
money week-by-week, although the salary was smaller at some of these 
times than it is today.” 


“There is a wonderful satisfaction and pleasure in the feeling that 
one is paying what one owes the Lord and it is also a great incentive to 
active service and prayerful interest in our Lord’s work.” 


“It may interest you to know that at the great Methodist Men’s Con- 
vention in Indianapolis, the Secretary of the Benevolent Boards of the 
Methodist Church called attention to the fact that the California area was in 
advance of all other areas in this country in its benevolent offerings per 
capita. He then asked, ‘Why this leadership?’ ‘Not,’ he said, ‘because 
it is a richer area. I have gone over this continent with my eyes open, 
and I say it is not because they are richer in California. The reason is 
that not elsewhere on the American continent is there a single area where 
the doctrine of the scriptural tithe has been so carefully and so persistently 
taught. In the practice of the tithe lies the secret of its magnificent leader- 


I F9! 


ship’. 


“When I got into the middle of the............... today and found 
you sitting at the Open Hearth with the same old pile of illuminating 
pamphlets to give away, and new inspiring offers to make, and the same 
old love of God and His kingdom in your soul, and the identical old 


28 


confidence of His faithfulness to His promise on your lips—I thanked 
God and took courage. 

“My first pastorate in the country opened with your first pamphlet 
in my mail, and speedily in my heart and always since then on my lips, 
when congregations were to be instructed. Your leaflets have gone into 
every family I ever preached to long enough to give me the right. My 
wife and I have always tithed at least—usually it took up towards a fifth 
or a half of our income to satisfy us at all. How intensely interested I 
was after years of that, to happen to meet you and your wife and the 
I'ttle girl at a hotel on Geneva Lake in Wisconsin. But I never forgot the 
lots of things I pumped out of you in two or three days there, or failed 
to use them in tithing talks ever after. And you are at it still! Good! 
Good! God bless you every way. 

“Business. Of course I am a regular reader of the........... Absurd 
of you to question it. Of course I have never known anybody who was 
less anything-good-and-happy-and-prosperous for his tithing—and I have 
questioned many hundreds. So please send on those eighty pages.” 


“My husband began tithing when in financial difficulties and was won- 
derfully helped out in most unexpected ways. My brother also was, through 
illness in. his home, unable to make ends meet and living on borrowed 
money, going further behind each month. He took the Lord into partner- 
ship and in three weeks his income was increased more than the tithe 
amounted to, and best of all were the spiritual blessings which came in 
many ways.” 


“We were given an allowance in our home and most of us tithed it. 
My mother started our youngest sister in the good way as soon as she 
could count up to ten. She was given 10 cents a week for spending money 
and faithfully placed one cent in a box kept for that purpose. When she 
started teaching school, she wrote home saying she had just received her first 
checque and counted out her tenth. That it seemed a lot, and she was 
sure she never could have done it had she not begun when she had only 
10 cents. Later she wrote that her chief pleasure in getting her checque 
was the laying aside of the Lord’s tenth. I think the training of children 
in this matter is most important, and perhaps the most neglected part of 


the field.” 


“No; on the other hand, thirty years of tithing have made me happy, 
called forth generosity, and blessed me financially.” 


“Although I inquire little about the private matters of others, I have 
never known so thorough and satisfying contentment and peace of mind 
as that enjoyed by those who pay their tenth to the Lord.” 


29 


“T have some twenty-nine tithers in my church and all are enthusi- 
‘astic over it. It has been a great help to me as well as a great financial 
gain.” 


. “In answer to the question asked would say emphatically that since 
my husband and I began tithing, we have been greatly blest in every way 
and Oh! the pure fun it is to give. We have several tithers in our church 
and we never have to resort to socials, grab bags, etc., to raise funds for 
any object.” 


“In regard to tithing, would say I have practiced it about 40 years and 
am sure it is the right way. Never knew anyone who practiced it but was 
sure it was the thing. Knew one man who practiced it for years, but grass- 
hopper year cut it out and failed. He told me when a bankrupt it started 
when he ceased to tithe.” 


“My own experience and observation taught me long ago that it pays 
to be honest with God. The Tithing Plan is the safest bank in the country. 
It makes one a stockholder in the Great Reserve bank system of the 
universe and is always a conserver of real vital piety in the life and experi- 
ence of the individual.” 


“The Lord will always prosper a cheerful giver. I know a business 
man who is not a Christian but tithes as a business proposition. If the 
world so looks at it, why should not every Christian? To me it is a com- 
mandment given from the beginning of creation and I believe in keeping 
all of His commandments.” 


“T have been a tither for years on an income of Two Hundred and 
Fifty Dollars, and I know I can do more with my ninety cents than I 
could with the dollar.” 


“I have never known or heard of such a person, and I don’t think 
the question ever can be answered in the affirmative. By tithing we open 
the windows of heaven, making it possible for God to pour out the bless- 
ings He longs to give us and by robbing Him we close them.” 


“I have only one family in my congregation that tithe, and their lives 
have been so enriched I am anxious that others should know the joy of 
giving.” 


“More than once have I pleaded in Christian Endeavor meetings and 
in Committee meetings as well as in private conversation, to be informed 
of any one who had ever been disappointed in tithing, and have never 


30 


heard of one. Could you say that you know thousands or even hundreds 
who have been blessed? I would like to be able to make the statement 
strong, but my own knowledge would be small.” (This pamphlet answers 
this letter.) 


“Tn 1909 it was our privilege to help start a tithing fund in the 
Sate soap See church in.............. The tithing began March Ist, to be 
for one month to pay off an old debt contracted by the former minister. 
The debt was $1500. Results: all who began kept it up, more were added, 
debt was paid, new methods introduced, building of new church started 
and contributions doubled many times.” 


“T have never known any one to be less happy, less prosperous, less 
generous, less spiritual, less a friend in need and indeed by tithing his 
living.” 


“T preached on tithing last Sunday morning to about four hundred 
people. A Jew who heard my sermon said: “Mr. , there are only 
thirteen Jewish families in this city of —— and we keep the expense of 
our church clear and pay our minister $80.00 per month. We simply 
tithe.” 


31 


Selections from 
Talks With Money 


“What are you?” I said to a freshly minted dollar as I held it in 
my hand. 

“In a word, Iam money. Most thinking people describe me as a 
‘measure of value.’ Some call me ‘concentrated value.’ Others a ‘mé- 
dium of exchange;’ still others a ‘receptacle of value.’ I prefer to think 
of myself as the agent, the representative, the servant of whoever has 
me in his or her possession.” 


“I did not know you could talk.” 

“I am the most effective talker in the world. I mean for people 
who use me. You are talking now with your vocal organs; when you 
use me to talk with you do more than talk; you act—you do things.” 


“You speak of yourself as my agent; do I not own you?” 

“No; God created me and God owns me. At the mint men changed 
my shape and appearance, but I am the same metal that God created. 
He owns me, you possess me.” 


“Do not possession and Ownership mean the same thing? Do I not 
own what I possess?” 

“No; God says, ‘The gold and the silver are mine’ and ‘the earth 
is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof’ He has a right to say this be- 
cause He made us, He created us.” 


“Please be more definite. I want to be honest. I do not want to 
be in possession of anything I do not own.” 

“Yes you do, and you are now.’ You earned me honestly: and I 
am in your rightful possession. When you exchange me for something 
else I will be in the possession of another, but God will still own me.” 


“I understand you to say that so long as you are in my possession 
you are my agent, my servant, and that you will obey my orders. Have 
you no power of your own? Cannot you do as you please with your- 
self?” 

“T do not have power. I am power; this because I represent value 
and value comes from God.” 


“You say you are power, and yet while in my possession you must 
obey my orders. Are you helpless so far as doing your own will is 
concerned?” 

“Yes, I am absolutely helpless except as I am used. You can 
exchange me for food, or clothing or shelter; in short, for anything 
you want whether for your good or for your harm; I must obey your 


32 


will. You can throw me away or you can bury me in the earth or in 
a safety deposit vault if you want to.” 


“You say you represent value. Have you no value of your own?” 

“Very little. Of myself I am as you see only metal, and I am 
neither plentiful nor, as metal, nearly so valuable as steel, which is very 
plentiful. You cannot eat me, you cannot wear me and I cannot shelter 
you; yet,if you say the word I can procure all these things for you.” 


“T doubt it, at least not much of either; you are only a single 
dollar.” 

“You forget your first question, ‘What are you?’ and my reply, ‘I 
am money.’ I am not speaking as a silver dollar; I am speaking as 
money. I may be represented by gold, silver, paper, nickel or copper. 
I am used in all these forms to measure value; in other words, to meas- 
ure power, and remember that both value and power are spiritual 
forces.” 


“To listen to your talk and reasoning one would think you, too, 
are spiritual.” 

“T am spiritual. In material, substance and appearance I am metal, 
but as metal, as I have already explained, I am of little value; much less, 
in fact, than such metals as iron, steel, copper and aluminum, which 
are both cheap and abundant. In content, in essence, I am spiritual.” 


“Yet, I have heard you called ‘filthy lucre.” 

“They slander me. Filthy people can make me do filthy things. 
Wicked men can make me do wicked things. Slaves to alcohol can 
buy whiskey with me instead of food and clothing for their families. 
Dishonest officials can be bribed with me. These are base uses and I 
hate to think or speak of them. But just think of the good I can do 
and am doing every day and hour the world round. As the agent of a 
kind husband and father I buy food, clothing and shelter for loving 
and loved wife and children. Yes, and luxuries, too. I pay for and fur- 
nish homes. I pay school and other taxes to support the government 
of my beloved country. I build hospitals, I hire nurses for the sick. 
I build and support churches and schools. I send missionaries all over 
the world to tell the good news of the Kingdom. It would take volumes, 
not to tell in full, but to even index thé good I am doing every minute 
of every day the year round. Could I do all this as an agent, a servant, 
if the content, the essence, the soul of me were not spiritual?” 


“Yet Paul says ‘the love of money is the root of all evil.” 

“That is the old translation and it is wrong. In the Revised Ver- 
sion it reads a root, not the root, which makes a wide difference. Evil 
has many roots, but I am not one of them. What Paul really says is 
that the love of me, not me myself, ‘is a root of all kinds of evil.” 


33 


“I do not quite understand; can you not make your meaning 
clearer?” 

“IT will try. Only money misers, and they are very few, love me 
for my own sake. Paul was talking about people who love me because 
of the things, the riches they can buy with me for their personal selfish 
use or display for show. His meaning is made clear in the context 
The previous verse reads: ‘But they that desire to be rich fall into 
temptation and a snare and many foolish and hurtful lusts: such as 
drown men in destruction and perdition.’ Then follows what you 
quoted: ‘For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil” If Paul 
had been talking of selfishness “the” would have been the proper adjec- 
tive, for more than anything else, selfishness is the root of all the evil 
in this world.” 


“Is there such a thing as tainted money?” 

“Absolutely no. The possession of me may be acquired by tainted 
and dishonest methods. I may be stolen outright. All sorts of crimes 
may be committed to obtain possession of me, but I remain as pure and 
clean as when my owner, God, created me.” 


STEWARDSHIP OF GOD’S TENTH. 


“In our previous conversation you said that while God is your 
owner I can do as I please with you while in my possession. What are 
my relations to God in the use I make of you?” ; 

“Your relations are those of stewardship. You are a steward for 
my use. In other words, a trustee.” 


“Am I steward for all of you that comes into my possession or 
for only a part?” 

“For all, but your stewardship for one-tenth of your gains or in- 
come is very different from that of the other nine-tenths.” 


“In what respect is it different?” 


“As evidence and acknowledgment of His ownership of all that 
enables you to make gains or have an income, God requires that you 
return, pay back, as it were, one-tenth of the increase by acting as His 
steward for its use in making His other children in the world outside 
of your own family and those naturally dependent upon you better 
and happier. This tithe, or one-tenth of your income, God asks you 
to regard as holy, and the use of it as an act of worship, of divine 
service.” 


“Can I worship and serve God by the use of money?” 

“You might well ask if you can truly worship and serve him without 
the use of money. Can there be any real worship where there is no 
added gift or service? Which has most value, words or deeds? Prayers 


34 


for missions, or money for missions? Words of sympathy for the poor 
or money to buy the food and clothing they need?” 


“Don’t you believe in prayers for missions and missionaries?” 

“IT most certainly do, but it must be real, genuine prayer, not mere 
words and good wishes. Mission schools, churches, hospitals, and the 
necessary equipment for them, cost money, and missionaries, teachers, 
physicians and helpers are as much entitled to liberal pay for their 
work as you are. Prayers for the success of missions, unless you give 
your full share of money to enable them to succeed, are exactly like 
counterfeits of me, they are of no value. In giving of me for the suc- 
cess of missions and other good causes you are acting as a wise and 
faithful steward of God’s tenth of your increase, and at the same time 
you are giving to your fellow-men the only conclusive evidence that 
your prayers are anything more than words.” 


“Is the amount of money we give from God’s tithe to help in mak- 
ing His other children in the world happier and better a correct value 
measure of the good we do and the good we receive in thus using it?” 

“Emphatically no. The penny from the little child’s dime; the 
ten cents from the clerk’s or the laboring man’s dollar, which may 
represent a whole day’s work; the dollar, a duplicate of me, the tenth 
of the lawyer’s or physician’s fee of ten dollars; or the thousand dollars 
from a man whose income is ten thousand dollars a year, are all on 
exactly the same footing. They all represent sacrifice, a gift of value. 
By the payment of God’s tithe each, in addition to the act of worship, 
has made acknowledgment, not in words only, but in deeds, that God 
is the owner of all that enables him to produce an income. As He 
expresses it, ‘It is God that giveth thee power to get wealth.’ ” 


“Is the tithe, the tenth of our income, a debt to God?” 

“Yes, and the payment of it by acting as God’s steward in doing 
good with it is one of the sweetest as well as the most enduring pleas- 
ures in your life.” 


“Is not a desire for gain a low motive to appeal to as an incentive 
for doing good?” 

-“That depends entirely on what you want to do with gain when 
you get it. If you intend to spend your gains upon yourself or for 
selfish purposes, yes, it is a low motive. If you desire gain that you 
may be more useful, that you may do more good, that you may be a 
faithful steward for larger amounts, your motives are high and pure.” 


“To what purpose and causes would you advise that I give God’s 
tenth of my income?” 

“My mission as an agent and as a measure of value naturally gives 
me a wide outlook. The usual answer to your question is, give it to 


35 


the church or to some cause of the church. Many people interpret 
that answer to mean their local church or the religious work of their 
own denomination. The Jews were directed to devote God’s tithe to 
the support of the priests and Levites, whose business it was to instruct 
the people in the law and to minister in holy things. 

“As I look at it, the church of Jesus Christ is immensely broader 
than Judaism and has an immensely larger work laid out for it to 
accomplish. It is entirely too big for the ordinary church or denomi- 
national walls, or for any other kind of walls. Of course, it is the first 
duty of every Christian to care financially for the support of the church 
of which he is a member. Also for the missionary and other causes 
in which his home church is interested. Beyond that I am delighted to 
serve my possessor as‘an agent for his use of God’s tenth to do any- 
thing, yes, anything that in his judgment will honor God as a faithful 
steward desiring to do the most possible good with God’s share of 
his gains.” 


“Your answers indicate that I am to be guided by my own judg- 
ment in the selection of objects to which to give the Lord’s tithe. Do 
you mean just that without qualification?” 

“In substance, yes. You must never forget that your stewardship 
for God’s share of your gains is to God alone, not to other men, not to 
the church nor to any cause of the church. If you are wise you will 
realize and act upon the knowledge that team work with other stewards 
in behalf of objects in which they and you are alike interested will, 
as a rule, accomplish more and better results than individual effort, but 
you cannot turn over to others the responsibility for the wise use of 
God’s share of your income. 

“Remembering that administering God’s tithe is a combined act of 
worship, prayer and stewardship, you cannot delegate any of these 
duties and privileges to others.” 


“Is it not probable that, with the liberty you advise, many people 
will make mistakes and not spend God’s tenth of their income as wisely 
as they might?” 

“Apparent mistakes, yes, but while they may appear to be mistakes 
to you, they may not to God. His standard of judgment is impossible 
to you. He judges motives; this you cannot do. Besides, experience 
is a very important part of God’s method of education and training, 
and mistakes are always an important element of experience. Even 
yet you personally learn by mistakes, just as you learned to walk when 
a child by frequent fallings. 

“Besides it is far more important that you and all other Christians 
become faithful stewards and do what you think is right as God—not 
some one else—gives you to see the right, with His share of your gains 
than to worry over the disposition of their tithe by other stewards. 


36 


‘If any man lack wisdom let him ask of God who giveth to all men 
liberally and upbraideth not.’ 


“If God were as impatient of the mistakes of His children as they 
are of the mistakes, real or supposed, of each other, He would not be 
the God you worship and try to serve.” 


STEWARDSHIP OF OUR NINE-TENTHS, 


“Is it wrong to pray for money?” 

“No, it is wrong not to pray for it if your desire for money is that 
you may use it for good purposes. Don’t you ask for God’s guidance 
and blessing upon your temporal affairs? In short, for temporal pros- 
perity? If you don’t you ought to, if you desire to be a faithful steward 
for larger amounts of money and property.” 


“In a former conversation you stated that I must regard myself as 
a steward for all the money or property that comes into my possession, 
but that my stewardship of God’s tenth of my gains is different from 
that of the other nine-tenths. Will you explain the difference?” 


“Your stewardship of the tithe, God’s tenth of your income, is your 
worship of God, your service for God expressed not in words only, 
but in deeds. It is a visible, a real, a tangible evidence of your worship, 
and of its sincerity. 

“It is this element of worship that inheres in the very nature of 
‘God's tithe of the money value of your income, that distinguishes the 
stewardship of this first tenth from that of the remaining nine-tenths. 
The stewardship of the nine-tenths is primarily for the benefit of your- 
self, and those dependent upon you, for the necessaries and comforts 
of life.” 


“What about luxuries? Am I justified in spending any portion of 
my income for what are called and known as luxuries?” 


Yes; take flowers, for instance. Can you think of anything more 
absolutely worthless and useless as a necessity of life than cut flowers? 
They are an undoubted luxury. They wither in a few hours and must 
be thrown away; yet millions of dollars as good and pure as I am are 
spent for cut flowers every year; and tens of thousands of good people, 
men, women and children, make a comfortable living, support churches 
and schools and do their share of the Master’s work in the world from 
money they make in raising and selling cut flowers.” 


“Would it not be better to take the money spent for flowers and 
- other luxuries and give it to'the poor?” 

“If they are able to work, no. It is far better both for the poor 
and those who would speedily become poor if they do not have work, 
that you buy the products of their honest labor than to give them 


37 


money or anything else in charity. The inevitable tendency of giving 
money to people in need who are able and willing to work is to pau- 
perize them, to destroy their manhood.” 


“I agree with you there, but would it not be a better use of the 
money to give it to the church or to missions rather than to spend it 
for flowers?” 

“Again, I answer, no. I am taking it for granted that when you 
devote and pay out God’s tenth of your income you give to the church 
and missions what you regard as their full share. Remember, we are 
now talking about the stewardship of the other nine-tenths of your 
income.” 


“But the church and missions are in such constant and pressing 
need of money to carry on their work?” 


“Tf you, and all other church members, were faithful stewards of 


God’s tenth, the church and missions and all kindred agencies engaged 


in the Master’s work in the world would have all the money every year 


that they could wisely use. Their wisest and best men and women 


could be employed in administering and using for the world’s better- 
ment God’s share of the income of professedly Christian. people instead 
of begging for it, as they are compelled to do now. Also the helpless 
poor would all be well cared for.” 


“What are the best purposes to which I, as a steward, can devote 
the nine-tenths of my income?” 

“T am most usefully employed by men with families in purchasing 
food, clothing and shelter, including :permanent homes, for their wives 
and children, also in the education and training of the children for lives 
of honor and usefulness,” 


“Returning to the subject of spending money for luxuries, I mean 
such things as are not harmful. Many Christian people claim that we 
should spend money only for that which is necessary, or at least useful, 
and devote the remainder to the good of others. What is your advice?” 


“Millions of dollars are annually spent for luxuries, and hundreds 
of thousands make an honest living by producing and selling them. 
Which is doing the most good? Buying the honest, harmless products 


of these workers, or by not buying, reduce them to poverty and then 
‘help them by charity?” 


. 


“Granted that cut flowers are luxuries, what about spending money 
from the nine-tenths of our income for such things as books, pictures, 
works of art and other beautiful things in the home; also in travel, 
recreation and pure amusements?” : 


38 


“Right for every one of them and for all kindred objects. They all 
tend to broaden, elevate and sweeten life. I share in the pleasure and 
profit such things bring when I am being used to purchase them.” 


“What is God’s attitude toward his children who have abundance 
of worldly possessions, and what should be their attitude2” 

The best answer I can give is to quote from His Word, using the 
“New Testament in Modern Speech” translation: 

“Impress on those who are rich in the present age that they must 
not be haughty, not set their hopes on riches—that unstable foundation, 
but on God who gives us richly all things for our enjoyment. They 


must be beneficent, rich in noble deeds, open-handed and liberal.” 1st 
Timothy 6-17, 


“How did the term ‘riches’ in that age compare with the times in 
which we live now?” 

“It was very different. Only the few were rich. People whom we 
now speak of as well-to-do or even in moderate circumstances, would, 
in that day, have been regarded as rich.” 


“What about the rich young man who asked of Jesus: ‘What good 
thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?” and to whom the Master 
replied:‘ ‘Go and sell that thou hast and give to the poor?’” 

“Jesus was testing him, trying him, proving him. He did not stand 
the test, but ‘went away sorrowful.’” 


“If he had started in good faith to obey, would the Master have 
permitted him to carry out his directions?” 

“In view of Christ’s uniform teaching, the stewardship of money 
and property, both direct and in his parables, there can be but one 
answer. He would have treated him as God treated Abraham when he, 
in obedience to God’s command, was on the point of offering up his 
only son Isaac as a burnt sacrifice. He would have called him back 
and told him to be a faithful steward of his ‘great possessions.’ ” 


“Is it God’s desire that His children should possess in abundance 
the good things of this world?” 

“Undoubtedly, yes. The whole Bible is permeated with that teach- 
ing. Poverty is one of the penalties for doing wrong, either by our- 
selves or others, oftenest by both. It is not a reward for doing right.” 


“Was not the Master poor while on earth?” 

“Yes, for three years at least. Scripture says ‘that though he was 
rich, yet for your sakes he became poor that ye through his poverty 
might be rich.’ ” 


“Does that mean rich in money and property?” 
“Read the whole passage for yourself, 2nd Corinthians, 8th and 9th 


39 


chapters. In all of both chapters Paul was writing about collecting 
money for the poor, made poor by famine, down in Jerusalem; what 
else could be mean?” 


“Do Christian people really have more of temporal prosperity and 
the material comforts of life than non-Christian?” 

“Look around you; look anywhere. I know, for I go everywhere. 
Wherever there is the most sin there is also the most poverty. Wher- 
ever there is the most righteousness, which is but another name for 
right living, there is the most temporal prosperity.” 


MISCELLANEOUS QUESTIONS. 


“What classes and kinds of people are most successfully influenced 
to adopt tithing as a rule of life?” 

“First—Children and young people; second, the younger class of 
Sunday school teachers; third, the women.” 


“Can you make a further division?” 


“People who are not being prospered or who have met with finan- 
cial reverses are more likely to commence tithing than those who are 
in prosperous circumstances; also those with a limited income.” 


“One would think that people who are being financially prospered 
would the more readily acknowledge their stewardship by tithing.” 
“They ought to, but the facts are the other way.” 


“Can you suggest why?” 
“Yes, the ‘deceitfulness of riches.’ ” 


“But prosperity and riches are not the same. The ‘prosperity’ may 
be very limited and the ‘riches’ long in coming?” 

“As human nature is constituted the effect of both riches and finan- 
cial prosperity, however limited in degree, are the same with all of you. 
The tendency of either or both is to cause you to depend upon, to trust 
in them, rather than in their giver—God.” 


“What about those, if there are any, who commence tithing when 
in receipt of a small income and stop when their prosperity is increased 
and apparently becomes assured?” 


“You say ‘if there are any.’ The proportion is small, but there are 
more than you would suppose, more than the world knows of.” 
“What are the results?” 


“So far as my observation goes the results are invariably the same; 
sooner or later, as a rule very soon, their prosperity begins to diminish, 
and in most cases ends in financial disaster.” 


40 


“Suppose a boy or girl is given say 50 cents a week as an ailowance 
and is willing to give one-half of it or one-tenth of it to good objects, 
as you advise; what advice would you give?” 


“One-tenth, by all means. It is folly to train a child in habits that 
are not expected nor intended to be permanent.” 


“Are there other reasons?” 


“Yes, and deeper ones. Children should be taught the A, B, C’s of 
steawardship. Verbal or ‘word of mouth’ acknowledgment of God’s 
ownership of everything of value in the world makes little or no impres- 
sion on the mind of a child or, for that matter, on the mind of anybody 
else. The simple act of paying to God the tenth of all the money earned 
by or given to a child, by giving that proportion to good objects makes 
a much deeper and more lasting impression of God’s ownership and the 
child’s stewardship than hours of preaching and teaching. It is some- 
thing tangible, something he can do, not merely believe, or say, and 
hence something he can understand. Besides only doing builds char- 
acter that will stand the test of either prosperity or adversity.” 


“Are you a preacher also? You talk like one.” 


“Yes, I am a proxy preacher; that is, if you so direct I will do your 
preaching for you, and I will follow your directions as to how it shall 
be done. If you want to preach the good news of the Kingdom by 
doing things rather than by talking about them, I am the best preacher, 
and very often the only one you can employ. If you want to preach 
from the pulpit I am sure you can use me in procuring the services of 
much more effective preachers than you would be.” 


“Can you act as my proxy in other lines of doing good?” 


“Certainly, there is practically no limit to the good objects for 
which you can use me. For example, I am ready and more than willing 
to act as your agent, your proxy in building hospitals, schools and col- 
leges; also in hiring far better teachers, professors and nurses than you 
would be if you undertook to do their work yourself. Meanwhile you 
would continue in your present business of making more of me, more 
money, while I am acting as your proxy along these lines.” 

“Am I not a loser by not giving personal service to those who need 
it instead of using you as my proxy?” 


“Emphatically no. Surgeons, physicians and nurses do not grow 
more sympathetic or tender hearted because of their constant minis- 
tering to suffering; and preaching is not a more spiritual employment 
than making money if your object in making money is to use it for 


good purposes.” 
41 


- 
“By “good purposes’ do you mean if I am trying to make money to 


give to hospitals, build churches, pay preachers, missionaries and kin- 
dred objects?” 


“No. These are only a part and much the smaller part. Making 
money to support yourself, your family and others who may be de- 
pendent upon you, payment for a home, educating your children, pay- 
ment of your taxes, and innumerable other things for which you. make 
money are in reality spiritual employments and*should not in the least 


interfere with soul growth equal to that of the most devoted preacher 
or missionary.” 


“Should I not nurse the sick and care for the injured when I have 
opportunity?” 

“As first aid, yes, but as soon as possible let those do it who are 
trained for that purpose, and can do it far better than you can. Mean- 
while, and this is the important point for you, make me your agent to 
pay them well for acting as your proxies in doing it.” 


“Should I not visit the sick and in every way possible manifest 
sympathy with suffering and give comfort in sorrow?” 
“By all means, yes. Such service is doing something to help, and 


is a part of true religion, but visits and sympathy will not take my place 
where my services are needed.” 


“Is there not some rule by which I can be governed in all such 
cases?” 

“Yes, the Golden Rule. Do unto others as you would have others 
do unto you. If you were sick or injured which would you. prefer, to 
have some kind-hearted neighbor not only visit you, but act as your 
surgeon and nurse, or have a known good surgeon and trained nurse 
take care of you? In short, whenever you are in doubt as to your duty 


in any respect to your fellow-men, at home or abroad, it is always safe 
to obey the Golden Rule.” 


42 


a a a vs 


— ee 


5 
: 
; 
7 
; 
; 
: 


Selections from 


Christian Service for Laymen 


To Ministers. 


As ministers and preachers your viewpoint of Christian work and 
life’s duties is radically different from ours as laymen. You measure 
your success by the number of people you can induce to attend church, 
prayer service and other religious meetings, and influence to make a 
public confession of faith in Christ. You earn your livelihood, your 
salary, by this work, and your salary, the comfort of your family and 
the education of your children depends upon your success. Your life 
work centers in the church and its related activities. Your thoughts, 
your reading, your writing, your visiting, practically all your working 
hours are devoted to church, church life and church interests. A live 
preacher preaching to and ministering to a live church is your ideal 
of a useful and successful life. From boyhood or early manhood your 
thinking, education and training have been along these lines. It would 
be against nature if you did not look at life’s duties and responsibilities 
from the ministerial, the preacher, the church standpoint. 


Not Our Viewpoint. 


But this emphatically is not the natural standpoint of laymen. We 
make our living and provide for our families by other methods. Of 
necessity, our time, our thoughts, our labors during week-day working 
hours are devoted to secular objects. The most of us support ourselves 
and families by selling our time and labor to others. In some form or 
other we, like you, are employes. You are employed by and work for 
the church along religious lines. We work for individuals or corpora- 
tions along secular lines. Our time, like yours, belongs to our em- 
ployers. We would be no more pardonable if we spent the time we 
have sold to those who pay us wages or salaries in working for the 
church, than you would be if you spent the time you have sold to the 
church in secular employment. In one respect alone do we occupy the 
same standpoint. It is as much our duty as yours to live the Christian 
life, but as between you and us, the channels of that life are widely 
different. 


Ministers Go to Church to Work; Laymen to Worship. 


= Naturally your conception of Christian work is from the standpoint 
of your own experience. Not six alone, but seven days in the week 
you work in and for the church, and you, we and the world at large 
measure your success by the number of us laymen you can influence 
to attend the different services and become church members and pro- 


43 


fessing Christians. You go to church to work. We go, or ought to go, 
for worship, for spiritual food. Precisély as we go to our tables at 
home for food for our bodies, we go, or ought to go, to church for 
food for our souls, for our spiritual natures. 

Coming at once to the heart of the subject, the preacher, the teacher, 
the missionary standard for Christian work was never intended for us or- 
dinary laymen. What is work for them was meant for, and is, food for us, 
Partaking of food spiritual or material, which is not followed by work, 
becomes in time harmful rather than helpful. In either case it produces 
laziness, and in time, aversion and disgust at the sight or mention of 
food. The perfectly natural result of partaking of spiritual food without 
more Christian work than at least four-fifths, probably nine-tenths of 
us laymen do is to make us not only sermon hardened, but worship and 
prayer hardened. When we reach that stage the remedy is not more 
worship or more prayers, but more work. 


How Can Laymen Do Effective Christian Work? 


Conceding that our work and share in building up Christ’s kingdom 
should not be measured by the teacher, the preacher, the missionary 
standard, the all-important question is, what is for laymen real, paying, 
effective, satisfying Christian work? Answering this, to all thinking 
Christians, question of questions, I believe that in the early future we 
laymen will realize and shape our Christian life and work for 
the Master upon the realization that effective work for Christ does 
not differ from any other kind of work. That the best work 
is done by division of labor, by proxy. That “every man to his calling,” 
means what it says. That our calling as laymen, whether it be as 
laborers, mechanics, clerks, stenographers, nurses, farmers, teachers, 
merchants, manufacturers, bankers, anything by which we make an 
honest living, is as sacred and as honorable in the sight of our Heay- 
enly Father, as well as in the sight of all thinking men, as that of 
evangelists, preachers or missionaries. That religious work is not an 
exception in the world of industry. That good work done by proxy is 
just as acceptable as if done personally. That specially equipped visi- 
tors, teachers, preachers, nurses and physicians can do the work for 
which they were educated and trained far better than we can. That it 
is just as much our duty to furnish the money necessary to support 
them, and furnish all the needed equipment for their work, as it is 
theirs to do the work itself for which they were trained. That if we do” 
this by contributing proportionately from our income as God prospers 
us, we are sharers in the results and blessings just as much as if we 
personally did the teaching, nursing and preaching ourselves, 


Tithing Answers the Question. 
If we contribute a certain definite proportion of our income to the 


44 


\ 


Master’s service, no matter where or how the money is spent, we are 
sharers and partners on God’s books of record in all the benefits and 
profits. And these benefits and profits are far greater to us in personal 
happiness and in building up our Christian character than they can be 
to others. Summing up the whole subject in a single sentence, the only 
possible method by which we laymen can bring our religion into practical 
use to ourselves and others every working hour of our daily lives, is 
by pledging and paying a certain definite proportion of our income to 
the advancement of Christ’s kingdom in the earth. 

Tf we do this, and that proportion is the God-ordered measure of 
one-tenth, no matter whether we are thinking about it or not, we know 
that one-tenth of every working day, one-tenth of every working hour, 
yes, six seconds of every minute, is devoted to the Master’s service 
just as acceptably as if we were in church singing His praises and 
joining in His worship. 


Key Word of Christ’s Teaching Is Do. 


Words are not deeds and no teacher ever drew the distinction be- 
tween profession and practice more sharply and distinctly than did our 
Savior. The Ten Commandements and much of the Old Testament are 
full of “Thou Shalt Not’s,’ in modern English “Don’ts.” There are 
almost no “Don’ts” in Christ’s teaching. The key-word of it all is 
“Do-— DOs, 


Ne 


45 


Selections from 


What We Owe and the Results 
of Teaching It 


During about two years I preserved near three hundred of the 
larger orders received for tithing literature, intending to obtain material 
for another pamphlet devoted to the results of teaching tithing. 


In August and September of the current year, 1913, I sent to each 
of these parties a letter in which, among others, were the following 
two questions: 


“What are the results of tithing upon the financial prosperity of 
those who practice it?” 


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OO eS 0h 8790 al isiee.'e (9G, (0) eiimpiainw a: aa) capil 6) \etje nee 'e) ele eile Wiie:'e\e “oho oreis,* ose). 4per ie <6.pahels neji fetrenarenrs is Weiierious iota 


OP SEPM CUO OOO 0110 68 AS 00S (6 “Oo OS. op eee, 0,00 snaie Ghexeleus, (ene vere iso. etereel o ces oposite’ oielalialsvie/ tet ohdkel oaeneee 


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Believing as I do that tithing was instituted for our benefit rather 
than for the benefit of those who receive our tithes, I regard these two 
questions as of paramount importance. Following are extracts from the 
replies received: 


Results of Tithing upon the Financial Prosperity of Those Who 
Practice It. 

“Tithers have prospered spiritually and through years of crop fail- 
ures have prospered financially as in preceding years.” 

“Happier.and more prosperous.” 

“Very good indeed.” 

“Far in advance.” 

“Certainly not less prosperous.” 


“Three of the seven tithers have become owners of their homes 
by purchase on the installment plan within 14 months after they began 
to pay tithes.” 

“Spiritual life and activity increased.” 

“None are poor; some have increased their incomes and business 
prosperity.” 

“Tn my own case my finances were always in a tangle until I began 
tithing; since then I always have enough and a little to spare.” 

“Cannot tell but know that no tither has been less prosperous.” 


46 


- “The results are splendid.” 
“Spiritual life greatly quickened.” 
“They seem to have more and more to give as opportunities for 
giving present themselves.” 
“God has blessed them, giving them employment and prosperity.” 
“Those who have adopted it seem to have been helped financially.” 


“All our 54 tithers seem, as far as I am able to discover, to be pros- 
pering, not getting rich, perhaps—they are all laboring people—but all 
are doing well.” 

“All our tithing families seem to be prospering.” 

“With one exception the income of all our tithers has been greatly 
increased.” 

“Am not able to say positively but, as I see it, they are prospering 
nicely.” 

“All the tithers say they are doing better than ever before.” 

“More care regarding their finances and less foolish expenditures.” 

“The results are very evident. I have instance after instance, testi- 


mony of those who were and are still being blessed by the use of these 
pamphlets.” 


“It is perhaps too early to test it yet but they are trusting God in 
the matter.” 


“They are prosperous.” 
“Cannot say as to the financial prosperity of tithers, but it has been 
a great blessing to the Church.” 


“Time too short to show any marked gain except in greater spirit- 
uality.” 

“The Lord has greatly blessed the tithers here with good health 
and success in secular work.” 


“Tn carefully reviewing the list of our 25 tithers, I do not find any 
that have not been materially prospered.” 


“They. prosper. I have watched and noted this for years.” 


“Frequently say they have more money than before the tithing 
system was adopted.” j Y 


“There has been a general toning up in the matter of giving. Those 
who are tithing are doing well financially.” 


“Tithers say they are more careful in small things. They say that 
their nine-tenths does more than ten-tenths did before.” 


“Good so far as I know.” 


“Those who have been tithers for years have been financially blessed 
above the others.” 


“Every person who has become a tither in my church has had 
financial prosperity all the year.” 


a 47 


“Better members in every way and more prosperous financially and 
spiritually.” 

“Our Bible Superintendent says he owes all his financial success to 
tithing.” 

“Beneficial in every case.” 

“The tithers all prosper.” 

“I have been using your pamphlets for over 30 years. Have had 
hundreds pledge themselves publicly to adopt the plan and so far as I 
know all those who have kept the pledge have prospered.” 

“They all claim that they are prospering in a material way. They say 
it pays as individuals without reference to others. -It brings prosperity.” 

“More than most others, I have been helped in my work by your 
pamphlets. I have built many churches and your literature has been of 
great financial assistance. I have also been blessed spiritually in its dis- 
tribution.” 

“A decided increase.” 

“I do not know of a single tither who is in poverty-stricken circum- 
stances; on the contrary, all of them are thrifty and prosperous.” 

“All report greatly increased temporal and spiritual prosperity.” 


Results of Tithing Upon Spiritual Life and Activity. 


“Those who are tithing are the spiritual pillars of the Church.” 

“The spiritual life and activity of our tithers has increased and is in- 
creasing.” 

“The tithers are the most spiritual of our people.” 

“Our tithers show more interest in all things pertaining to the King- 
dom.” 

“Spiritual life deepened.” 

“There has been marked improvement in spirituality and work.” 

“All say they feel much better satished and enjoy religion much 
more than ever before. They are certainly much more active.” 

“Spritual activities greatly improved.” 

“Strong opposition here to tithing. Nevertheless the literature has 
done and is doing good. The hard ground has been broken up. It has 
set the people thinking and talking and many are thinking seriously, 
The younger men will listen to reason rather than the ‘Pillars of the 
Church.’ You will be able to understand our problem when a leader of 
a Young Men’s Bible Class of about 20 called tithing ‘rot.’” 

“Most glorious, the prayers of my tithers are soul lifting. I regret 
only that so many rejected and some were offended.” 


“The payments of one young man, a farmer who had been con- 
verted to tithing exceeded any and all of the rich farmers who did 


48 


not tithe. Yet many of these men said they were sure they gave more 
than a tenth.” 

“Deepening of interest in Bible study and personal work.” 

“You, as a business man, know it is difficult to tabulate results. 
Our church has been so cold. Even those tithing had not caught the 
spirit. It is all different now, dating its beginning to the use of your 
literature. New interest in every department led to efficiency cam- 
paign and larger gifts on the part of those not tithers. After I preached 
my last sermon of the series, one man giving for years $10.00 annually 
for benevolences increased his gifts to $100.00 annually. But the greatest 
testimony comes out in the individual life of my people. The individual 
report on the card as to numbers does not mean much to you. If you 
could know the full story of this church 18 months ago and now, you 
would know.” 

“There has been a marked increase in both.” 

“They are the most spiritual, the natural result.” 

“Almost double in attendance, interest and influence.” 

“I have three points in my charge. The point that practice tithing 
to fullest extent is most spiritual, receives more members, has more 
conversions, has better prayer mectngs and is easy to get along with in 
all things.” 

“They are more active in the Master’s service and are instrumental 
in leading others to Christ.” 

“Prayer meetings larger and better. Bible study and family prayer 
great gain.” 

“We have a membership of 103. None wealthy. We built and paid 
for a brick church at a cost of $10,865. None of the usual ‘clap trap’ 
methods for raising money were resorted to, and on dedication day we 
did not have to resort to the ordinary appeal and pull. We had a better 
plan, God’s plan, and outsiders are saying we never saw it after’ this 
fashion.” 

“One man in the bounds of my charge who is not a member of the 
church took me off to one side one day and told me he believed in 
tithing and that he wanted to support a native Chinese pastor another 
year. Asked me as to all the details and finally said: ‘I owe the Lord 
$150.00 more each year than I am paying, so just put me down for that 
amount.’ His word goes in this community.” 

“Excellent.” 

“Spiritual life advanced.” 

“Tithers are more active in service and more devoted to the entire 
cause. Spirituality deeper.” 

“The most liberal people I have are the tithers.” 

“A very perceptible improvement.” 

“Their lives are a spiritual power. They are leading in Church 
and community.” 


49 


“We had an interesting tithing debate. I preached on the subject 
and circulated pledges. Some half dozen signed. Work was mostly 
educational. We already had a tithing band of a dozen, the best sup- 
porters in the Church.” 

“The most dependable members in the Church and the largest 
givers are the tithers.” 

“Good, with their increased material offerings has come a spiritual 
blessing.” 

“Cannot reply specifically to your questions, but believe the tithing 
spirit is growing among our people though covetousness is an awful 
master and has most of them by the throat. 

“They are the best workers in our congregation.” 

“Tithers are the most spiritual members of my Church.” 

“Happy, trustful and cheerful in their daily life. Also greater inter- 
est in the spiritual life of the Church. ‘ 

“The effort was a failure (so far as I can judge) through lack of 
interest and co-operation on the part of church officers. About half of 
the pamphlets were distributed and unless I can get better assistance, 
no more will be distributed in this church, the remainder in that case 
will be turned over to another church I have in mind.” 

“Many of our members are faithful tithers and feel that they are 
greatly blessed by this system. Our church gives generously to mis- 
sions.” 

“At.the beginning of this last year an attempt was made to reduce 
the salary; but through the efforts of my District Superintendent the 
salary was maintained where it was last year. I presented ‘The Tithe’ 
in a sermon and distributed your tithing literature with the result that 


at the end of the year the salary was paid in full and an actual gain of 
$294.00 in the Benevolences. 


Selections from 
What We Owe and Why We Owe It 


Let us for a moment consider this subject from the standpoint of 
human reason and common sense, leaving, as far as possible, the re- 
quirements of the Bible out of view. Is it reasonable to suppose that 
God would put into the hearts of his children a universal sense of obli- 
gation to him and a universal desire to recognize and pay that obligation, 
and at the same time leave them in absolute ignorance as to the amount 
they should pay? How much short of mockery would it be to implant 
in us all a vivid sense of indebtedness to him and then leave us to guess 
at how much we owe and how to pay it? 

How would it sound for an earthly creditor to say to his debtor, 
“You owe me part of your income in a special sense, but you do not 
know how much it is and you shall never know. You may try to pay it, 
but you shall not know when you have succeeded.” Or this from a 
creditor to his debtor, “I have furnished all your time as well as every 
dollar and every particle of property you have in the world. For your 
own good I desire and expect you to pay me something from what you 
make by the use of that money and property, and as a reminder that 
you are indebted to me for it. I know that you want to do this, but 
I draw the line at telling you how much I require you to pay. That 
you must guess at. You may overpay or you may underpay, but you 
shall never certainly know when you have done either. You must be 
guided by your reason, your impulses, your emotions, any, or all of 
them, just as you like, but you must remain in ignorance of what I 
require as your duty.” 


An Irreverent Illustration? 


Suppose that the debtor should learn that a good many years ago 
the creditor had published a book of rules for the guidance of the 
people of that day, and that he should ask to see a copy. Suppose, 
on looking it over, he should find plain rules there laid down by which 
debtors could know what proportion both of time and income was re- 
quired to be specially set apart and devoted to the creditor’s use. On 
making this discovery suppose he should ask the creditor if both these 
old laws were not still binding, and should be met with the reply: “The 
law as to the proportion of time to be especially devoted to me is still 
binding, and as you know by experience it pays you well to observe it; 
but some years ago the law designating the proportion of income to 
be devoted to my special use was abrogated. You must guess at your 
duty in that matter. You are a debtor, but you must assess your own 
indebtedness.” “But,” asks the debtor, “Is there no rule by which I 
may be guided?” “Yes,” the creditor replies, “some years after the old 


51 


law expired by limitation, or was abrogated, I promulgated another to 
take its place. In substance it is that ‘on the first day of every week 
you must lay by in store for my special use, as you have prospered the 
preceding weck.’” “But,” asks the puzzled debtor, “how much shall I 
lay by? What proportion of my prosperity? And what must I do 
when I make nothing, which sometimes happens for several weeks 
in succession?” The creditor’s reply is as before: “You must do as:you 
please, or rather you must do as I tell you, but you must guess both at 
the meaning of my directions and at the proportion you should pay. 
You want to do your duty, but you must remain in the dark as to what 
your duty is.” 

“An irreverent illustration,” do I hear some one say? I protest 
that it is not. I admit it would be irreverent if it illustrated what the 
Bible really teaches. But it does not. True, it fitly illustrates a very 
common interpretation of God’s Word, but the interpretation is a false 
one. The Bible itself does not teach any such nonsense. 


Theories vs. Facts 


Theories and arguments are well enough in their place, but they 
are not entitled to any weight as against established facts. Theoretically 
a man who works seven-sevenths of his time ought to get rich faster 
and have more money at the end of the year than if he worked only 
six-sevenths, but does he? What is the rule as to Sabbath workers? 
Are they better off financially than their neighbors who work only six 
days? Are they as prosperous? 

Theoretically a man who keeps his entire income for his own use 
ought to save money and improve in worldly circumstances more 
rapidly than if he paid or gave away one-tenth of it, but the facts are 
just the other way. 

Every thinking man and woman, young or old, whether experienced 
in business or not, has some ideas, intuitive or otherwise, of business 
methods and business credits. You, my reader, are no exception, hence 
I ask you in all sincerity which of two men you would rather trust or 
give credit to if in business, all other things being absolutely equal: A 
man who keeps all his income for his own use, or a man who, ‘from 
conscientious motives, lays aside one-tenth of it to be spent entirely 
for unselfish purposes? Which will be the better able to pay? Your 
answer to this question ought to settle the matter in your own mind. 


Christ Abrogates No Moral Duties, 


Neither the coming, the teaching, or the mission of Christ altered 
or lessened in the least the binding force of any moral laws. His com- 
ing set man free from a long list of ritual and ceremonial duties, but 
not from a single moral duty. He criticised the Pharisees for their 
mistaken teaching regarding the observance of the Sabbath, but He 
honored the law of the Sabbath. He did not reprove the Pharisees for 


52 


tithing. His language is rather that of commendation, but He mentioned 
the extreme and finical observance of the law in order to bring out in 
stronger contrast and denounce their neglect of the far weightier matters 
f “judgment and the love of God.” There is not a line in the entire 
New Testament which either directly or indirectly or even inferentially 
lessens or weakens in the slightest degree the binding force of the law 
of the Sabbath, the law of Free-will Offerings, or the law of the Tithe. 
If God ever owned anything He does yet. If the children of men 
ever needed to pay the Tithe they do yet. If ever men were stewards 
for their property and money they are yet. If they ever needed to pay 
a regularly definite proportion of their incomes to the owner, they do yet. 
Remembering that this would be just as true if there were no rewards, 
how supremely foolish we are to neglect the duty, when the rewards 
are so rich and so sure. 


Tithing Pays—Try It and See. 

In studying the history of the Jewish people, the two facts stand 
out in bold relief, that both their piety and their prosperity could always 
be measured by their observance of the Tithe. “Jacob’s vow was evi- 
dently the measure of his religious feeling, that morning at Bethel.” 
That he kept the vow is plainly evident from his subsequent temporal 
prosperity. So with the nation. With every declension both in morals 
and national prosperity came neglect of this duty, and every repentance 
was marked by its renewal. Their purses measured their religion to an 
extent little realized, just as modern purses measure modern religion, 
including, dear reader, yours and mine. Bound up with this fact, is its 
twin fact that the measure of a modern Christian’s temporal prosperity 
is just as closely connected with his prompt and cheerful debt paying, 
both to God and man, as was that of the Jewish people thousands of - 
years ago. God’s laws never change and the rewards for obeying them 
are as changeless as the laws. 

In the same verse with “Render unto Caesar the things that are 
Caesar’s” is “Render unto God the things that are God’s.” The other 
meaning of “Owe no man anything” is “pay your debts,” and all pay- 
ment of honest debts, whether to the Almighty or to our fellow-men, 
pays in temporal prosperity. 

If you borrow money of your meses N ie and refuse to pay interest, 
will he lend to you again? If you lend an article to a neighbor and he 
refuses to return it, or recognize your ownership, will you lend to him 
again? 

A man who makes an article entirely out of his own materials and 
from his own resources is supposed to own it. If he lends it, and the 
borrower changes the form or use or name, do the changes make him 
the owner? 

Does not the admission that God made everything carry with it the 
admission that He owns everything? Does our changing the name or 


53 


shape or use of any of His creations invest the ownership in us? If not, 
are we not in reality all borrowers instead of owners of what we claim 
to possess? If we are borrowers only, is it not probable that the 
Almighty applies the same common sense rules that we apply in trust- 
ing, favoring and honoring those who recognize our rights, and practice 
common honesty towards us in the ordinary affairs of everyday life? 
In short, is it not reasonable to suppose that prosperity follows the 
recognition and practice of our duties to our Heavenly Father, at least 
as much as it follows the recognition of the rights of our fellow-men 
and our duties to them? 

But reason, theories, duties and all else but facts aside, well estab- 
lished facts and statistics show beyond the slightest question that in 
temporal affairs—and by the term “temporal affairs’ is meant dollars 
and cents and temporal prosperity in the most literal meaning, God 
honors and blesses those who honor Him—not theoretically and by 
word of mouth alone—but practically, with their substance. 


54 


Selections from 


Proportionate Giving 


By Robert E. Speer. 


Thirdly, we need some practical abiding principle like this to 
make sure that the principle of stewardship is a reality in our lives 
_and that we do not inwardly find ourselves swept into self-deception. 
It is the easiest thing in the world for a man who does not deal with 
God in the matter of obligation as he does with his fellows to find that 
he has not been giving God his due. I will just ask any man who is 
here in this room this morning who has adopted the minimum prin- 
ciple of the tithe if he did not discover that in the old days he was 
outrageously robbing God. Just exactly as we need the Sabbath for 
some such purpose as this to make sure of the recognition of all time 
as sacred to the Lord of Life, just so do we need the recognition of 
our tithe obligation to God in the matter of our wealth. 

In the fourth place, God never would ‘have ordered it, if it 
had been a mere transitory matter; if it had not been for our good. 
He does not need tithes for himself. All ten tenths of our wealth 
he can take away if he pleases. The principle of tithe is needed by 
man. He made it clear not as something for that time only but -as 
something for all time. Man’s moral constitution has not altered. 
The fact that it was good for man three thousand years ago is an evi- 
dence that it is good for man still. Our moral nature is the same 
across the lands and across the centuries, and the old principle was not 
a principle that belonged to a particular epoch; it was a principle that 
lay deep in human nature. 

Fifthly, money is the most perilous thing with which we have 
to cope, next to the baser, sensual nature. It is one of the most dan- 
gerous forces with which we have to deal. Money; we all know how 
perilous it is, how constantly through the New Testament the warnings 
are given. As Ruskin says in “Time and Tide”: 


“First, have you observed that all Christ’s main teachings 
by direct order, by earnest parable, and by His own permanent 
emotion, regard the use and misuse of money? We might have 
thought, if we had been asked what a divine teacher was most 
likely to teach, that He would have left inferior persons to give 
directions about money; and Himself spoken only concerning 
faith and love, and the discipline of the passions, and the guilt 
of the crimes of soul against soul. But not so. He speaks in 
general terms of these. But He does not speak parables about 
them for all men’s memory, nor permit Himself fierce indig- 
nation against them, in all men’s sight. The Pharisees bring 
Him an adultress. He writes her forgiveness on the dust of 


55 


which He had formed her. Another despised of all for known 
sin, He recognized as a giver of unknown love. But He ac- 

~ knowledges no love in buyers and sellers in His house. One 
should have thought there were people in that house twenty 
times worse than they; Caiaphas and his like—false priests, 
false prayer-makers, false leaders of the people—who needed 
putting to silence, or to flight, with darkest wrath. But the 
scourge is only against traffickers and thieves. The two most 
intense of all the parables; the two which lead the rest in love 
and in terror (this of the Prodigal and of Dives) relate, both 
of them, to the management of riches. The practical order 
given to the only seeker of advice, of whom it is recorded that 
Christ ‘loved him,’ is briefly about his property. “Sell that thou 
bast” i 


So it was throughout all our Lord’s teaching. He realized that 
some of the sources of deepest peril to man in one sense lay in money. 
In order to escape that peril, we need the protecting grasp of some 
great and secure principle. Who does not know how serious this need 
is. We can think of friend after friend who in these last years has had 
wealth piled in upon him, and we have seen the spiritual atrophy, un- 
less he clung to some simple Rrinciple of action like this to hold him 
secure, 


Seventhly, there is no objection that holds against the principle of 
the tithe that does not hold also against the principle of the Sabbath 
day. Both rest on the same ground of Old Testament sanction, New 
Testament recognition, moral claim and adaptation. And, if the Sabbath 
had fallen into neglect as the tithe has done, the same arguments 
would be raised against its revival which are raised against the tithe. 


Eighth, it is the only sure way of giving God his right share. If 
we say with regard to every other obligation, “Now I will scrupulously 
regard that what I owe to every other creditor I will certainly pay;” 
and then take the view that for the Lord of All we will pick up the 
crumbs that are left at the end, the chance is that He will get less 
than His right in what we have to give and spend. The only sure 
way of securing to the uses of God in the extension of His kingdom 
what it needs is to set aside carefully for Him the first tenth. 


Lastly, I believe in this principle because, regardless of anything 
that will flow form it, it is fundamentally right. It does not matter what 
effect it may have on our lives, whether it pinches or cramps. We be- 
lieve in it because we think it is right. 


56 


Selections from 


How to Inaugurate the Tithing 
System in the Local Church 


By Bert Wilson 


What the Main Drive or Purpose Is Not. 


1, It is not to get money to pay off church debts, nor to pay last 
year’s deficit, nor to pay interest on money borrowed at the bank, nor 
to pay the preacher’s back salary. If any such selfish low motive is 
presented as a reason for starting the tithing system the members will 
resent it from the start. This whole program should be put on a higher 
plane. 

2. It is not merely a substitute for other worn-out methods of 
attempting to raise money. To start out with the attitude, ‘““We’ve 
tried everything else, let’s try this for a MES half defeats the thing 
before it starts. 

3. It is not a cure-all to cure the many ills of the church. Some- 
one reads a tract or hears a testimony of a church wonderfully blessed 
by tithing: He quickly concludes to rush into the plan with visions 
of a full church treasury. The committee talks money, the preacher 
talks money, the board talks money. Money is emphasized out of 
necessity, because of the stupidity and negligence of the past. Hence 
the main point or purpose is missed altogether. 

4. Primarily and fundamentally the main drive is not for money at 
all. To start the tithing system on such a low basis is to doom it in 
advance. The church has been waiting for hundreds of years to be 
taught a spiritual motive for giving. The time has come for the church 
to launch a systematic campaign, teaching the high motives and pur- 
poses of systematic stewardship; these purposes and motives to become 
life principles among Christian people, financially expressed by re- 
ligiously giving at least the tithe to the work of the Lord. 


What the Main Drive or Motive Is. 


1. It is to teach men to put God and the Kingdom first. With 
most professing Christians self, home, business, pleasure come first. 
After time, attention, energy, money have been given to other things, 
if there be any left the Kingdom may get it. God takes last place 
instead of first. The main drive, therefore, must be to REVERSE 
THE ORDER. When a man is asked to become a tither, he is asked 
to establish as a life principle the habit of putting God first. This, of 
course, gets the tithe, but it does vastly more, it gets the tither. It 
creates a new race of Christians, who put God and His Kingdom where 
they rightfully belong—FIRST. 


57 


2. To teach men to recognize and acknowledge God’s ownership. 
God owns the property, land, money and income which we call our 
own. It is God’s world. The gold and the silver belong to Hin. 
This point many church members do not and will not recognize, much 
less acknowledge. Here the tithing system is vital. The teaching is 
that the tithe in a special sense belongs to God. We therefore do not 
ask a man to tithe to pay the preacher, or the debt, but we ask him to 
pay to God what already belongs to Him. If a Christian will recog- 
nize God’s ownership of the tithe, hé will recognize God’s ownership 
of all. The tither then, recognizing and acknowledging God’s owner- 
ship, pays his tithe from a high spiritual motive. He renders unto 
God the things which belong to Him. 


3. To teach that tithing is an act of worship. Someone has said 
that worship is self-giving to God. A man’s money is a part of him- 
self, his brain, his brawn, his energy. When he gives money he gives 
a part of himself back to God. His tithe is not merely answering 
a temporary financial call; it is given as an act of worship of his God. 
He goes to the Lord’s house on the Lord’s day, he mingles with the 
Lord’s people, he partakes of the Lord’s Supper, and he puts into the 
Lord’s treasury the Lord’s money. It is a supreme act of worship. 
Now, if a campaign on the tithing system is put upon this high plane, 
the money will come, to be sure, but a greater result will follow. The 
whole church will be lifted. Out of selfish, negligent, self-satisfied 
churches can be made real churches of Jesus Christ. 


The MAIN DRIVE, therefore, is to secure, not the tithe, but the 
tither; not the gift, but the giver; not the money, but the man; not the 
possession, but the possessor. 


Can the Average Christian Afford to Tithe? 


One of the very first objections raised by Christian people against 
the tithing system is that they can’t afford it. The objection is urged 
because people see only the money side of tithing. 

The starting point is the man himself. When he is asked to be- 
come a tither, let him forget his money for the time and face himself. 
Can the Christian man afford to put God first in his life? The fact 
that he is a Christian presumes that he is dedicated to the work and 
program of the Lord. He has confessed Christ, he has promised to be 
His disciple, his name is recorded on the church records. Now, at 
this point, can he afford to deny his Christ a just proportion of his 
money? To do so is to lead a life of selfishness instead of a life 
of self-denial. 

Can he afford to make a law of giving for himself? By refusing to 
acknowledge the principle of the tithe he denies God’s right to suggest 
what proportion he should give. He blindly understands that he should 
give something. God has plainly indicated that the ratio should 


58 


be a tenth. He flatly refuses to accept this and begins a loose habit of 
irregular and unsystematic giving. This is nothing short of religious 
anarchy. Now the question is, can the average Christian afford thus 
to classify himself? This means to lose spiritual fervor and interest 
in the Kingdom. 

The man, therefore, needs the principle of the tithe to fortify his 
own faith. On faith he accepts God’s principle and ratio of giving. He 
establishes the tithing principle as a life habit; thus begins a life of 
complete co-operation between the man and his God. Now this is the 
starting point of the tithing system. If a man denies God up to this 
point, then there is no use to talk about the money. But if he will, on 
faith, accept God’s will and God’s principle of giving for his life, then 
the tithing system is already two-thirds on the way. 

“It must be the preacher, and not the promoter, that calls men to 
be rich.” 

“What is this miracle of money that men will work for it, wait for 
it, fight for it, pray for it? It stands for all that men count precious.” 


“Christendom must be better than heathenism. Christ’s man must 
be better than anybody else’s man.” 


59 


Selections from 


Letters to Editors on Tithing 


A PRACTICAL ILLUSTRATION. 


Are there not practical, financial and business reasons for the fact 
that tithing pays the tither in temporal prosperity? We all understand 
and are influenced by illustrations more than by arguments. Also we 
remember them longer. = 

Is not the following an almost exact illustration of the relation we 
occupy toward our Heavenly Father in the matter of what we call our 
worldly possessions? We should never forget that ownership and pos- 
session are not identical terms, God is the real Owner; we are possessors 
as stewards only and tithing is simply the practical acknowledgement of 
Gods’ ownership and our stewardship. - 

Suppose my banker lends me $5,000.00 on condition that I pay him 
every year ten per cent of all the profits I make by the use of it. Not 
ten per cent of the capital, which would be $500.00, but ten per cent 
of the profits whether they be little or much, If I make $500.00 I would 
owe my banker $50.00. If I make $1,000.00 I would owe him $100.00. If 
he should lend me $10,000 and I make $2,000.00 by the use of it, I would 
owe him $200.00. The same Proportion of course would hold for 
larger or smaller profits on the borrowed capital. 

Suppose my banker has a large number of people at work’ for him, 
people I know, or know of, and I also know how faithfully they serve 
him. Suppose these people are dependent for their support, their daily 
bread, upon the wages they receive from the banker or through his 
agents. Suppose that besides these workers for the banker there are 
many sick people, poor people, and people in distress in all of whose 
welfare and happiness he is deeply interested. 

Suppose my banker tells me that while he continues to lend me the 
principal, I need not pay the ten per cent of the profits I make on the 
loan directly to him at the bank. but give it to the people I know or 
know of who are at work for him, not forgetting to give a liberal por- 
tion to poor, sick or distressed people who need help. 

Suppose he tells me to use my own best judgment in giving the 
money I owe to him where I think it will do the most good, 

Suppose further that he requires that I keep an account of what I 
give to these different people and causes in which he is interested so 
as to be sure that I am paying the ten per cent I owe to him from 
year to year. 

Suppose my banker learns that I am wisely using the ten per cent, 
his share of the profits I make on the capital he furnishes me, that I 
am using good judgment in distributing it among his workers who have 


60 


no other means of support, and that I am helping to make comfortable 
and happy those poor and less fortunate people in whom he is inter- 
ested; is it not reasonable to suppose that he would be willing to lend 
me more capital on the same terms? 

Now is there anything unreasonable or hard to understand in this 
illustration? Does it not almost exactly illustrate God’s method of 
dealing with us as stewards in his law of the tithe? If it does, is there 
anything surprising, anything unnatural in the amply demonstrated fact 
that tithing pays the tither in temporal prosperity? Would it not be 
unnatural if the results were otherwise? 


THE CRITICS ON TITHING. 


Say the critics: “Advocacy of tithing because it brings financial 
gain to the tither is appealing to a low, a sordid motive.” Is it? Do 
they propose to give lessons in motives to the Almighty? Is it not 
God who says: “Honor the Lord with thy substance, so shall thy barns 
be filled with plenty?” Does he not also say in Malachi 3:10: “Bring 
ye all the tithes into the storehouse and prove me now herewith if I 
will not pour you out a blessing until there shall not be room enough 
to receive it?” In the next two verses he tells them what kind of blessings 
they will receive for tithing: “And I will rebuke the devourer for your 
sakes and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground, ‘neither shall 
your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field . . . And all 
nations shall call you blessed, for ye shall be a delightsome land, saith 
the Lord of hosts.” Are these not temporal blessings? If not, what 
are they? Does not God here promise good crops and no blight on 
the fruit; in short, financial prosperity as a reward for tithing? If not, 
what do these promises mean? Are they not equivalent of what we 
would say in modern English, “Tithing pays the tither; try it and see?” 


A RELIGIOUS TEACHER’S CRITICISM OF TITHING. 


Because it illustrates the position and arguments of a large number 
who object to tithing, I quote from a letter recently received from a 
prominent religious teacher. He represents a large, though, I am 
happy to say, a rapidly diminishing class of both ministers and church 
members who do not believe in tithing and who take refuge behind 
such arguments as he presents. He writes: 

“I do not believe in the tithing system. I think some men should 
give more than a tenth and that others cannot afford to give even a 
tenth. I prefer Jesus’ standard when he saw the woman cast in her 
two mites and declared that she had given more than all the rich men 
because she had given practically all she had. In other words, I believe 
the true test of giving is not the tithe, but in giving which involves a 
sacrifice.” 


61 


There it is in all its naked misconception of Christ's teaching. The 
lesson of the widow’s mite incident is plain upon the surface. It is a 
withering rebuke to ostentatious giving. Those rich men were casting 
in large gifts and evidently doing it in such manner as to attract atten- 
tion to the amounts. They wanted praise from the public for their large 
gifts. It is safe to say that they got it. They “had their reward.” 
Christ saw deeper. The poor widow who cast in two mites, two-fifths 
of a cent, really gave more than they all. They gave from their abund- 
ance; she gave all she had, all her living. But she did not go home 
to starve. If she was a working woman, as she probably was, she 
doubtless earned enough before night to provide for her immediate 
needs. Is it not safe to presume that she earned more than two-fifths 
of a cent during the next twenty-four hours, and that within that time 
she had more money than when she entered the temple the day before? 
Also will the critics who object to tithing and prefer the example of the 
poor widow, tell us how they explain the parable of the “talents” pre- 
faced as it is with “The Kingdom of Heaven is like,” etc. Also what 
becomes of stewardship which was so often on the Master’s lips, and 
was the very kernel of His teaching? : 

The fact is that the essential features of the widow’s mite incident 
are repeated almost every week in hundreds of churches in our own 
country. In almost every church there are poor people whose gifts 
are “more than they all” in the sense that the Savior meant in com- 
mending the poor widow. 


WAS THAT SECOND TITHE A HARDSHIP? 


Many advocates of tithing make much of what was required of the 
Jews as compared with us modern Christians. They figure it out with 
more or less accuracy that the laws of Moses required of every Jew 
that he contribute in tithes from twenty-three to over thirty per cent 
of his income, or, “increase” as the Bible has it, every year. As to the 
first tithe, God’s tithe, the tithe that Abel, Abraham and Jacob paid 
all are agreed. Let us see if there was any hardship in the “Second 
Tithe.” 

When you have finished reading this article, please turn to Deuter- 
onomy 14:22-27 and read there the institution of the Second Tithe. As 
a commentary and because it makes it plainer, I give the same verses 
as they are translated in “The Complete Bible in Modern English.” 

“You shall tithe the whole of the produce of your grain as it comes 
from the field year by year, and you shall eat of it before your Ever 
Living God in the place that he chooses to fix His name, both of your 
corn and wine and oil; and of the blessings of your herd and flock so 
that you may learn to reverence your Ever Living God at all times. 


“But if the journey is too long for you to be able to carry it because 
the place which your Ever Living God has chosen to fix His name, is 


62 


too far from where the Ever Living God has blessed you, then you 
shall convert it into money and take the money in your hand and go 
to the place where your Ever Living God has chosen for Himself and 
expend that money in all that your life requires; in oxen and sheep 
and fruit, and flesh and in all that your life demands, and eat these there 
before your Ever Living God and enjoy yourself with your family.” 

Is there anything here that sounds like “hardship?’ Was any 
penny of the second tithe spent for any other purpose than for the 
enjoyment of those who put it aside and saved it for these annual 
feasts? The Jews had, not one only, but three annual feasts at Jeru- 
salem, three seven-day religious and patriotic holiday seasons every 
year. With the second tithe they provided the money to pay for them, 
but each man paid for his own and his family’s good time with his own 
money. We have but one such season, the Christmas holidays, unless 
we count our Chautauquas, religious conventions, camp meetings, etc. 
Do we regard the money we lay aside during the year to spend during 
the Christmas holidays, or for the other objects mentioned as a “hard- 
ship”? The thought is absurd, but it is not a whit more absurd than 
to say it or think it of the second tithe for the Jews. 

The third tithe taken every third year was for the sole benefit of 
the poor. All modern Christian nations have adopted far better methods 
of caring for the poor. Witness our free public schools; our hospitals, 
public and private; our asylums for the blind, the insane, the feeble 
minded, etc., which we all willingly help to support by public taxes. 
We use every effort to prevent beggary by rendering it unnecessary. 
(Perhaps I ought to except our methods of church and missionary sup- 
port). When Christ was on earth begging was the bane of travelers, 
just as it is today in Palestine and Egypt. 


“Layman” in His Eightieth Year 


Courtesy American Magazine 


A Tithing Autobiography 
By “Layman” 


My early life was that of a pioneer in the Middle West. 
When I was eleven years of age my father removed from South- 
ern Ohio, where I was born, into what was then known as the 
“Miami Reserve” in Central Northern Indiana, from which the 
Indians had been removed by the government only two or three 
years before. The times were primitive and we passed through 
many hardships, as they would now be called; and yet, as I look 
back upon those early years, several of which were spent in a 
log cabin, I cannot but think that we children got as much real 
happiness out of life as our boys and girls do today. 

At twenty-one I commenced business as a country merchant, 
nominally as a clerk, but really representing my father in a 
minor interest, which was increased to a half interest a few years 
later. I changed my location once, but remained in the same 
business twelve years, during which time I had accumulated 
less than $2,500.00. 

In 1870 I closed out my business as a country merchant and 
removed to Indianapolis, where in that year I commenced tithing 
my income. The reasons were distinctly not altruistic—I con- 
fess that self-defense was a more prominent reason than duty. 
Like many other people, I was an emotional giver, was too much 
governed by impulse rather than reason. To some objects I 
gave more than I should, to others less. I needed a rule, a 
limit, and so my wife and I adopted the tenth as a convenient 
rule; and besides we had Bible authority for it. Neither of us 
regarded the tithe as a permanently binding law of the race; 
indeed, so far as I know, neither of us had ever heard a sermon 
or read a book on the subject. 

Perhaps I should give the immediate cause for our resolution 
to commence tithing. It occurred in the town in which we were 
living prior to our removal to Indianapolis. We were building 
a new church and in the excitement and emulation of dedica- 
tion day I gave, and pledged to give, several hundred dollars 
more than I should have done. Of course, I thought I was 


65 


“Giving to the Lord.” As I look back on it now I think the 
dominant motive was that we wanted a finer church than 
another denomination. (We see evidences on every hand that 
that motive still persists.) The result was that for two or more 
. years I was handicapped by that debt and unable to give my 
share to other worthy causes. 

I removed to Chicago in 1872 and engaged in the sale of 
school supplies, a year or two later adding the sale of school 
furniture, and still later the manufacture and sale of both. The 
nature of my business was such that I could not tell how much 
the profits were until the annual inventory was taken at the 
close of the year. Hence I’made in advance as careful an esti- 
mate as possible, and my wife and I gave on that basis during 
the year, both keeping accurate accounts. For six years, up to 
1876, when each annual inventory was completed, I found that 
my net profits were larger than I expected and I had to carry 
forward a balance to the credit of tithing account. 

I might say here that this continued until about the year 1882, 
so that for twelve years after commencing to tithe my income 
I did not, strictly speaking give anything. Tithing is payment 
to God by giving to God's work. We can neither give nor pay 
anything to Him directly. Giving after the tithe has been paid is 
but another name for free will offerings. 


Is It True That Tithing Pays? 


We increased our gifts to the Master’s work each year, but 
the profits increased in greater ratio. True, neither business nor 
profits were large, especially during the first four or five years, but 
each year deepened the conviction that there was a very close affilia- 
tion between tithing and temporal prosperity. I felt that if this 
was true in my own case as it certainly appeared to be, it might be 
true of others, and that if the facts could be obtained and widely 
published, the one paramount objection to tithing as a rule of life, 
might, in a large measure, be overcome. 

I felt then and do yet, that no matter what other objections 
we laymen may urge against tithing, and however unwilling we 
may be to acknowledge it or let the fact be known, yet the one 
objection that has, down deep in our hearts, the most weight, is 


66 


that the tithe is too much. We think we cannot afford to pay it. 
Up to 1876 and so far as I can recall for several years there- 
after, I did not know another tither, so that I had no personal 
means of verifying my opinion regarding the cause and effect re- 
lations between tithing and temporal prosperity. I had then, how- 
ever, and have always had since, an extensive acquaintance among 
ministers. I felt that if there were any tithers, they, of all men 
ought to know it. Hence I asked, as opportunity offered, and 
where opportunities did not offer, I made them, all the ministers 
of my acquaintance if they knew any tithers, and if so, how their 
temporal prosperity compared with others who did not tithe. So 
far as I remember none of them personally knew a tither. 
Believing that this phase of the subject is of paramount im- 
portance especially to laymen, I determined to make all possible 
inquiry by correspondence. and to obtain all the facts available. 


First Pamphlet and Circular 


On the cars on my way to the Centennial Exposition in Phila- 
delphia in 1876, I wrote the first pamphlet on the subject. It was 
both crude and brief, not much longer than the circular which 
accompanied it asking for information. In fact, both the pamphlet 
and circular were written chiefly for the purpose of obtaining 
answers to the following statement and question: 

“It is my personal belief that God prospers in temporal affairs 
those who honor Him by setting apart a definite proportion of 
their income to His service. I have never known an exception. 
Have you? Please give me any facts within your personal knowl- 
edge on this subject. Especially give the facts if you know of 
any exceptions.” 


During the years 1877 and 1878 this circular and pamphlet 
were sent to probably three-fourths of all the ministers in the prin- 
cipal evangelical denominations in the Northern States, and to a 
large number in the South. The aggregate amounted to from fif- 
teen to twenty thousand. 

Of course, they were circulars, and if I did not know then, I 
have learned since that circulars meet with scant courtesy from 
busy men. I also know that it does not follow that other people 
are deeply interested in a given subject because I am. At any 
rate only about one in seventy-five of those to whom the inquiries 


67 


were addressed, made any reply. However, the contents of the 
probably two or three hundred replies received were very gratifying. 

The testimony was practically uniform that temporal prosperity 
follows tithing. No exceptions worthy of the name were given. I 
could not but feel that if these testimonials could be widely dis- 
tributed, and read by laymen, the result would be not only a real 
awakening on the subject of tithing, but a large increase in con- 
tributions to Christian benevolences. I then decided that if God 
would intrust me with the means I would see to it that these ex- 
periences as to the financial results of tithing should be thoroughly 
circulated and read, or if they were not, the reason should be that 
the Christian ministry would not co-operate to the extent of cir- 
culating them without cost. 

Early in 1878, I think it-was, I prepared another pamphlet en- 
titled “Questions and Answers About Christian Giving” which 
was almost wholly devoted to the temporal side of the question. 
The subject matter of this pamphlet was very similar to the present 
“What We Owe and How to Pay It.” It contained sixteen pages, 
six of which under the head of “Personal Experiences” were de- 
voted to selected testimonials from those I had received in reply 
to the broadcast inquiries above mentioned. I regarded these tes- 
timonials as by far the most important part of the pamphlet. Sen- 
sible people care and are influenced far more by facts than by 
arguments. 


For Twelve Years All Tithing Literature Was Gratuitous 


Samples of these pamphlets were sent to probably three-fourths 
of all the evangelical ministers in the United States accompanied 
by an offer to send, postage or express prepaid, enough of them 
to furnish one to each family in their congregations. I also sent 
a printed slip making the same offer in about one inch of news- 
paper space to nearly or quite all the evangelical church papers in 
the United States asking its publication and also asking that edi- 
torial attention be called to the gratuitous offer. Of course, with 
the letter were sent copies of the pamphlets. A large majority of 
the editors ignored the whole matter. A few wrote to know if 
there was any money making scheme back of it. Others sent me 
printed copies of their regular advertising rates. One or two solic- 
ited it as an advertisement offering guaranteed satisfactory edi- 
torial endorsement. A substantial minority, widely representative 
as to denominations, cheerfully published the offer and several of 
them called editorial attention to it. 

On the whole, the response to these and other similar efforts 
was disappointing. The calls for pamphlets, though very many and 
largely increasing each year, were not equal to my anticipations and 


68 


what I thought I had reason to expect. However, the increasing 
demand was encouraging, and many letters showed plainly that 
the interest in tithing was deepening and widening. The strongest 
evidence of this were the many orders received from ministers who 
explained in sending them that they had been advised to do so by 
other ministers who had sent for and distributed the pamphlets 
with markedly good results, both as to the interest awakened and 
the increasing contributions of their people to church benevolences. 


Two Prizes Offered 


In the hope of increasing interest in the financial side of tith- 
ing, sometime in the early eighties, I published an offer in the dif- 
ferent denominational papers proposing to give a prize of one hun- 
dred dollars for the best essay on the subject from the temporal 
standpoint. A committee of three was appointed to read and pass 
~ upon the manuscripts. 

I have forgotten the names of all but one of this committee, 
Rev. E. P. Whallon, editor of the Herald & Presbyter, Cincinnati, 
Ohio. At the same time I offered a prize of twenty-five dollars for 
the best article for the use of farmers in estimating their tithes 
under modern conditions. About eighty manuscripts were received 
in competition for the first offer, and about twenty for the second. 
The committee awarded the first prize to Rev. C. R. Bonnell, an 
Episcopal clergyman of Pennsylvania, and the second to Rev. Dr. 
Horton (I have forgotten his initials), a Presbyterian minister 
of Cleveland, Ohio. 

For several years I published and circulated these two prize 
pamphlets in large and frequent editions. They are now out of 
print. 

Meanwhile I was adding to my list of tithing publications for 
gratuitous circulation. Some of these I wrote, others I obtained 
permission from the authors to publish. Among the latter were 
“Thanksgiving Ann” and “The Deacon’s Tenth” which are still 
in print and of which frequent editions of 10,000 each are required 
to meet the demand. 

As the years passed I very naturally received a great many let- 
ters bearing testimony to the prosperity in temporal affairs due, as 
many of the writers believed, to their having adopted tithing as a 
rule of life. Twice I made large collections of these letters, think- 
ing it might be wise to publish new and later testimonials. How- 
ever, On comparing them with those collected before 1880, I found 
they were so similar that nothing would be gained by making 
any change. 

The testimonials in No. 2, “What We Owe and How to pay 
It,” were all received in reply to the inquiries sent out previous 


to 1880. 
69 : 


Expense Too Great to Bear Alone 

For twelve years—or up to 1889 or 1890—in each of the mil- 
lions of pamphlets sent out was printed an offer to send to any 
minister or layman who would agree to distribute them, a sufficient 
number of similar pamphlets to supply one to each family in the 
church and congregation. To try to obtain even a small propor- 
tion of the cost of printing and postage or express charges would 
have brought the whole movement to a flat finish. Indeed with 
such a handicap it could never have been started. 

By about 1890 the demand had become so large that very fre- 
quent editions of from 10,000 to 50,000 copies of each of the four or 
five pamphlets then being published were required to meet the incom- 
ing orders. Cost and labor were becoming serious problems. 

In order to test the degree and permanency of interest in the 
subject, the gratuitous offer on all the pamphlets was changed to 
a request that parties ordering them should remit in advance the 
exact cost, which was given as nearly as possible. This was quali- 
fied, however, by an offer to continue furnishing them without 
charge to such pastors as would state in their request that their cir- 
cumstances were such that in their own judgment they should not 
be asked to pay for them. This was continued until about the 
year 1900, when the increasing demand and expense compelled the 
withdrawal of all gratuitous offers. Since then they have been 
supplied nominally at cost, although the receipts have never equaled 
the actual expense. The annual deficit has been from a few hun- 
dred to several thousand dollars. 


A Forward Denominational Movement 


In the year 1893 the World’s Fair was held in Chicago. Dr. 
Barrows, then pastor of the First Presbyterian Church of this city, 
was director of the World’s Congress of Religions. By his appoint- 
ment I prepared and read before the congress a paper on “Church 
Finance.” A year or two later I revised and published it in pamphlet 
form under the title “What We Owe and Why We Owe It.” It 
is still in print and has a wide circulation. 

Sometime in the nineties—I think about the middle of the 
decade—a very decided advance movement in tithing was made 
by the United Presbyterian Church. The leader was a business 
man in Pittsburgh—I am sorry I cannot recall-his name. In behalf 
of a committee appointed: by the General Assembly of that Church, 
he arranged with me to wrap in packages enough of “What We 
Owe and How to Pay It” to furnish a copy to every family in the 
United Presbyterian Church in the United States. He furnished 
a list of the names and addresses of all the ministers and the num- 
ber of pamphlets to be wrapped for each. The work of wrapping 
and addressing was done in my office, and when finished, the entire 


70 


lot was shipped by freight to Pittsburgh. From there they were 
sent by mail or express to their proper destinations. While the 
membership of the United Presbyterian Church has always been 
noted for liberality, especially in missions, yet statistics show that 
this thorough circulation of this tithing literature produced a 
large and permanent increase of offerings in that church for the 
Master’s work. 

For many years there was no little opposition to teaching tith- 
ing on the part of a considerable number of ministers and some 
editors of religious newspapers. Some contributed articles, and 
especially some editorials, were hard to bear in silence, but I soon 
learned not to reply, no matter how strong the temptation, nor 
how gross the injustice and fallacy of the arguments. Controversy 
only intensifies opposition and tithing, like everything else, must 
be tested by its fruits. In the long run facts are stronger than 
arguments. 


Reaching After Prospective Ministers 


Very early in the campaign I realized that the most profitable 
field for cultivation, if I could reach them, would be the students in 
the theological seminaries. Naturally, I first tried to reach them 
through their professors—the teachers of our future teachers. Ey- 
ery effort, however, in this direction was a flat failure. In some 
cases my efforts did harm by provoking criticism and bringing out 
in the seminaries the teaching that tithing was only a Mosaic law 
and was abolished by Christ. 


In the late winter of 1884, I think it was, I tried a method of 
reaching the students which I have often wished I had kept up 
every year. The time and labor involved was very considerable, 
but no work in this line I have ever done paid so well. 


I procured the latest catalogues of a large number of the leading 
theological seminaries and sent direct to each student of the junior 
and senior classes, a package of tithing literature accompanied by 
a personal letter asking careful perusal. Naturally I did not learn 
much of the results of this work until several years later, when 
these young men had become pastors and realized for them- 
selves what the teaching and practice of tithing meant in church 
and missionary finances. During the last twenty years I have re- 
ceived letters from many of these men stating that their interest in 
tithing and their own: beginning of its practice dated from the re- 
ception of these letters and pamphlets. 


For several years I made no further efforts to reach the theo- 
logical student body, but by 1902 I thought that the leaven of tith- 
ing had been so long working that the professors might co-operate 
in giving it a chance among their students. Acting on this belief 


71 


in September, 1902, I sent a personal letter to the president or lead- 
ing official of 140 theological seminaries in the United States and 
Canada. The letter read as follows: 

“Dear Sir:—By this mail I send you a sample package of such 
literature as I publish on the subject of honoring God with our 
substance. I will take pleasure in sending gratis, express prepaid, 

a sufficient number of similar packages to supply one to each theo- 
logical student under your care if you or some one in the institution 
will-state how many will be required and agree that they shall be 
placed in the hands of the students.” 
_ Just twenty-seven accepted the offer, leaving 113 who either 
ignored or rejected it. Resolved not to be baffled without further 
effort, in November of the same year I sent a similar letter ad- 
dressed to “The Professor of Practical Theology” in the 113 semi- 
naries which had declined to reply to the first offer. A total of 
twenty-two accepted this second proposition. I should say here 
that in the answers to both offers many of the writers expressed the 
warmest interest in the subject. 


I then decided to try to reach the students direct in the 91 re- 
maining seminaries. For each of them a similar personal letter 
was mailed addressed to “That student most interested in the sub- 
ject of honoring God with our substance.” At the close of the 
letter I added the following paragraph: ‘When you engage in 
your life work, you will find no subject of such vital interest to 
laymen. A thorough understanding of it and ability to explain it 
will greatly aid you in church and missionary support.” Only 
ten accepted this offer. I had failed in 81 out of the 140 theological 
seminaries in the country. 


The “Store House” System of Tithing 


So far as I know Wesley Chapel, Cincinnati, was the pioneer 
church in the adoption of the “Store house” plan of tithing; that 
is, bringing all the tithes into the church of which the tithers 
are members. 

A modest lawyer layman, Wm. G, Roberts, was one of the eight 
members, including the pastor and his wife, who on their knees in 
May, 1895, agreed to try this plan of church finance. For eighteen 
years it has been a complete success. 

About the year 1899 or 1900 the Presbyterian Synod of Indiana 
met in Shelbyville, and by invitation Mr. Roberts came up from 
Cincinnati to address the Synod on tithing. Nothing definite came 
of it so far as the Synod was concerned, but Mr. Roberts being a 
Methodist, the entire official board of the M. E. Church of Shelby- 
ville turned out to hear him. A few weeks later at.a full meeting 
of the officials, they decided to try the “Store house” plan. 
Some years later the pastor wrote me that their 69 tithers paid 


72 


more for church and missionary support than the remaining 913 
non-tithing members. 

Meanwhile many other churches of different denominations in 
the middle West had adopted the plan, and in August, 1902, at the 
Bible Conference at Winona Lake, a dozen or less men, all tithers, 
organized the “20th Century Tithing Association” for the purpose 
of pushing the “Store house” tithing movement. 


Work of F. P. Sigler 


Several years before this, Rev. F. P. Sigler, who had the ad- 
vantage of a thorough business training as a banker in his father’s 
bank, decided to enter the ministry. He had been a tither from boy- 
hood, and when licensed to preach, asked the Bishop to send him 
to the hardest field in the Conference. Needless to say, his request 
was granted. Of course, he preached tithing with the natural re- 
sult that in two years his church had grown both in numbers and 
financial strength, to be among the best in the Conference. 

His suecess was repeated in one or two other fields, and then 
he was employed as a “Tithing Evangelist” in the Southern Cali- 
fornia Conference. A year or two later he came East to attend 
the annual Bible Conference at Winona. There, and within a few 
weeks thereafter the officials and friends of the 20th Century Tith- 
ing Association, by correspondence, arranged with the Bishop in 
California to grant him a furlough for a year in order that he might 
take the field as a “Store House Tithing Evangelist” in Indiana. 
A few gentlemen guaranteed his salary, and for the succeeding 
years until his lamented death, he did most effective work, chiefly 
in Indiana and Kansas. 

During the years of his work as a Tithing Evangelist Mr. 
Sigler was the means of inducing over 8,000 persons in near 500 
churches to become tithers under the “Store House” system. Quite 
a number of the testimonials published in No. 7, “What We Owe 
and the Results of Paying It,” are from churches which, as a 
result of his efforts, adopted tithing as a part of their financial 
system. 

Mr. Sigler was a pioneer. An enthusiast on the subject him- 
self, he inspired enthusiasm in others. His audiences as a rule 
were totally uneducated in tithing. In most of the churches there 
was little or no “following up” teaching except possibly an occa- 
sional sermon by the pastor, 

None of them had the treasure possessed by Wesley Chapel, 
Cincinnati, in the person of Wm. G. Roberts, who for 18 years 
has taught a “Tithe Bible Class” every Sunday. 


Results of the “Store House” System 
Anxious to know the permanent results of the “Store house” 
73 


plan of tithing, in the Autumn of 1911 I wrote personal letters of 
inquiry to a large number of Churches which had adopted tithing 
as a system of church finance, selecting as many as possible from 
those having the longest experience. A majority of them were 
churches which had adopted the plan as a result of Mr. Sigler’s 
work. A portion, however, had adopted it of their own volition, 
chiefly under the leadership of business laymen. 


Danger In the Store-House System 


The larger number of replies were enthusiastic in favor of the 
“Store House” plan. Further investigation of the replies of those 
churches in which it had not been successful, showed that nearly all 
the failures were due to differences of opinion as to how the tithes 
should be appropriated. The lesson to be learned is that we must 
never forget that our stewardship is individual, and to God only, 
not to the Church or to any Cause of the Church. To be a tither is 
the all important thing, and while the “Store House” system may 
be the best for many church members, it cannot be the best for all. 

All the experiences received show that tithers, whether joining 
in the “Store House” plan or not, do many times more for their 
Church and for Missionary causes than non-tithers. 


Again Testing the Religious Press 

For several years I had made no additions to the literature I 
had been circulating on tithing. Nos. 9 and 10 being entirely new, 
and also all of No. 7 except the first three or four pages, I decided, 
with the aid of these additions to again test the interest of the 
religious press on the subject. 

To do this I sent to the editors of the 97 religious newspapers 
then listed in the Lord & Thomas Newspaper Directory, a package 
containing the ten pamphlets, and by the same mail sent a brief 
personal letter in which I stated that in recent years the interest in 
tithing had greatly increased, and suggesting that they take up the 
‘subject editorially. Less than a dozen paid any attention to either 
the letter or pamphlets. 

One of the exceptions, however, was the Sunday School Times, 
which published a very flattering notice and advised its readers to 
send 15 cents, the published price, for the entire series. 

Near, or quite 300 orders received from this one notice, practi- 
cally all from active Sunday School workers and teachers, gave new 
hope that the readers of religious newspapers were more interested 
in the subject of tithing than, at least, the great majority of the 
editors. 

In order to test the matter fully, in January, 1912, I prepared 
another letter to the editors of the entire list of 97 papers, and 
with this letter enclosed the following offer asking its publication: 


74 


Seven Pamphlets on Tithing Free 


“IT hereby offer to sena without charge, postage paid, a 
package of seven pamphlets on tithing, three of them new, to 
all ministers, church officers and Sunday School teachers; also 
to all members of Missionary Societies, Christian Endeavor 
Unions and all kindred organizations who will write for them 
during the months of/February and March, 1912. 

“Most of these pamphlets are written from the financial 
standpoint. The author believes that tithing pays. Pays in 
furnishing more money for the spread of Christ’s kingdom than 
_- wvesible by any other method. Pays the Church in its tem- 
poral interests and spiritual blessings whose members practice 
tithing, and also pays the tithers themselves in personal happi- 
ness and financial prosperity. 

“All orders must be personal. Requests to send pamphlets 
to others are not included in this offer. 

“This literature is not published for personal profit: The 
writer believes in tithing, and this offer is made in the hope of 
inducing others to study the subject, especially from the stand- 
point of dollars and cents. 

“It is absolutely necessary that you mention the paper in 


which you see this offer. Address ‘Layman,’ 143 N. Wabash 
Ave., Chicago, III.” 


The Result a Surprise 


The result was a very gratifying surprise. While only a little 
over one-third the papers published the offer, the demand for 
pamphlets was unprecedented in all my experience. 

As the hundreds of letters and postal card requests for samples 
came pouring in every day and in increasing volume until the time 
limit expired, I could not but contrast the interest with that shown 
during the twelve years from 1876 to 1888, when I offered not only 
samples, but everything I then published gratis, postage or express 
prepaid to anyone who would agree to circulate them. During the 
tush I was rather glad that so many papers ignored the offer. 

The most gratifying feature of the requests for pamphlets was 
that a very large proportion came from Sunday School teachers and 
young people. I wrote the Sunday School Times of this interest 
among the teachers, and they very kindly published the offer again 
in the issue of May 4th, 1912. 


Lansdell’s ““The Sacred Tenth” 


It is remarkable that until “The Sacred Tenth,” by Rev. Henry 
Lansdell, of Morden College, Black Heath, England, a noted trav- 
eler and author, was published, no exhaustive work on the tithe has 
been written since John Selden, known as the “learned Selden,” 
published his “History of Tythes” in 1618. (The writer is the for- 
tunate possessor of one of the original copies of Selden’s work.) 

In the preparation of his larger work, Dr. Lansdel] had not 
only access to all the early authorities, but had the very great addi- 


75 


tional advantage of the numerous and very important archaelogical 
discoveries among the clay tablet libraries uncovered under the 
ruins of the ancient cities of Babylonia, Egypt and Pheenicia during 
the last half century. After eight years of labor, his work was pub- 
lished in 1908. I had been in correspondence with Dr. Lansdell for 
several years, and in August, 1904 or 5, he, with Mrs. Lansdell, 
came to America and was present at the meeting of the Tithers’ 
Association at the Winona Bible Conference, where he made one 
of the principal addresses. They were also for several days guests 
at my home. 

When Dr. Lansdell’s work in two volumes of 750 pages was 
published in 1908, he sent me a copy. After reading it, I wrote 
him that both the size and the price would militate against a large 
circulation, and urged him to carry out, as soon as possible, his 
thought expressed to me while in this country that he possibly would 
condense the larger work into a smaller volume so as to bring it 
within the means and time of the average reader. 


In 1910 this smaller volume was published in England under 
the title “The Tithe in Scripture.” I decided to use 1t in another 
effort to reach the Theological students, and purchased 500 copies 
in sheets and had them bound in Chicago. 

Early in April, 1912, I prepared the following personally signed 
letter and sent it to all the 146 Evangelical Theological Seminaries 
in this country: 


Letter to Seminaries 


“To the Faculty of—— Seminary, 

~ “Gentlemen—‘The Sacred Tenth,’ by Rev. Henry Lansdell, 
D.D., of Morden College, Black Heath, England, is the only 
exhaustive work on the Tithe ever written. 

“The Tithe in Scripture’ is a compilation from the larger 
work by the same author and is sufficient for the ordinary reader. 

“Desiring to place a copy of this smaller work in the 
libraries of all the Theological and Divinity Schools in this 
country, and not being able to obtain them on satisfactory terms 
elsewhere, the writer purchased direct from Dr. Lansdell 
500 copies in sheets and had them bound in this country. I 
fae pleasure in sending you a copy by current mail for your 
library. 

“As already stated, I have imported only 500 copies. To 
supply the Theological Schools will require less than 200. I 
desire to place the remainder in the libraries of such colleges 
and schools as furnish the largest number of students for the 
ministry. Hence, I ask as a favor, that when you acknowledge 
the receipt of the ‘Tithe in Scripture’ you will give me the names 
of the colleges and schools from which come the larger portion 
of your students, and also the number of students in your grad- 
uating class for the current year. 

“The reason for this last request is that I want to place in 
the hands of each of your graduating students a copy of the 80-. 


76 


page booklet, ‘What We Owe and How to Pay It,’* similar to 
the one I send you with the ‘Tithe in Scripture.’ When they 
enter upon their life work they will find the question of Church 
and Missionary finance one of their greatest problems and their 
success will largely depend upon its solution. 

“They will also find that a large and rapidly increasing num- 
ber of laymen are coming to believe that tithing is the only 
always successful method of solving the problem. 

“If you will give me the number of your graduates this year, 
I will take pleasure in sending a copy of this booklet for each 
of them. 

“Awaiting your reply, I am, 


“Very truly yours,” 


After the letter was printed, but before mailing, I decided to 
make the work as thorough as possible and try to reach not only the 
graduating students but also the entire student body and the profes- 
sors. Carrying out this decision with the letter was sent a self- 
directed return envelope and the following card: 


SINaritemot, UNStitiutiom.jc cess cis BAC GOS, SSO OC IOP Moeicveietits 
ees NdUTreSS ec tes scree ec fe wieles eletets ete Rr ateGtts cles tice Mistees ; 
“Layman, 


143 N. Wabash Ave., 
Chicago, Il. 
“Dear Sir:— 

“Your offer to furnish without charge, express prepaid, a 
sufficient number of the booklet, ‘What We Owe and How to 
Pay It,’ to supply one each to the students for the ministry in 
the above institution is hereby accepted. There will be needed 


for the— 
SeniopGlasswen cata sc eet oo ete eae copies 
MaddlemG@ lass aetna. cod sie aie eecctea etreren is 
JunoreGlass aero eae ee ee hee $ 
PrOLESSOLS Bente oe eines Mint 
“Very truly yours, 
iaLem. os... Rees f Ea Dee eneae be bienciiks AOR EE Rr 


Again the result was a gratifying surprise. Nearly all acknowl- 
edged the receipt of the volume, though this was to be expected. 
The surprise was that so many wrote grateful words of apprecia- 
tion expressing deep interest in the subject and a willingness to co- 
operate by agreeing to distribute such literature as I might send, 
among the students and professors. 

Before vacation of the current year, 1913, I succeeded in sup- 
plying all the students and professors in 125 out of the 146 Theo- 
logical Seminaries in the country with the booklet, “What We Owe 
and How to Pay It.” The total number of copies required was 
over 7,000. So far I have failed in the remaining 21, but shall try 
again when the classes reassemble in the autumn of the current year. 


*This booklet of about 80 pages was made up of selections from 
8 or 10 pamphlets I was then publishing. It is now out of print. 


77 


For evidence of the change of sentiment in twenty years, will 
the reader kindly turn to page 7 of these Reminiscences and read 
again the results of the much greater efforts I then made to reach 
the students in the Theological Seminaries with tithing literature. 


Reaching Students for the Ministry in Colleges 


As already stated in the letter to the seminaries, I asked for 
names of the colleges from whence came the majority of the stu- 
dents for the ministry. In reply I received the names of 219 col- 
leges and universities, including several in Canada. 

A similar letter to the one sent to Theological Seminaries was 
prepared and sent to the presidents of all these colleges asking the 
privilege of sending a sufficient number of the tithing booklet 
above mentioned to supply one each to the professors and all the 
students having the ministry in view as their life work. By the 
same mail I sent to each president Dr. Lansdell’s volume, ‘The 
Tithe in Scripture” for the college library. — 


A total of 101 colleges acknowledged the receipt of “The Tithe 
in Scripture” and ordered something over 4,500 copies of the book- 
let. Thirty-one acknowledged the receipt of “The Tithe in Scrip- 
ture’ for the college library, but did not order the booklets. Sev- 
eral wrote that as it was near vacation season they would advise 
waiting until the next session before sending the booklets for dis- 
tribution. Quite a number were so interested in the subject that 
they asked for enough booklets to furnish one each to the entire 
student body. Others like the Moody Institute gave as a reason for 
this request, that practically all their students were preparing for 
some form of Christian work and teaching. Of course I was glad 
to comply with all these requests. 

In each copy of the booklet sent to all the college students and 
in a large number of those sent to seminaries, was placed the fol- 
lowing circular letter: 


“TO THE STUDENT:-RECEIVING THIS, BOOKER: 


“This little booklet is sent to you in the hope that it will be 
of service in directing your thought and practice to the only 
rule that always has and always will stand the test of time and 
practical experience. 

“When you enter upon the work of preaching and having 
the care of a church, you will find that the question of Church 
and Missionary finance will overshadow in importance all other 
problems connected with permanently vigorous church life. 

“You will also realize, as you cannot realize now, that giving, 
helping, service, doing for others, lies at the very foundation of 
any and every kind of Christian character worthy of the name. 

“Task your special attention to ‘Christian Service for Lay- 
men.’ Ministers, teachers, physicians, nurses and people of 
kindred callings, do their chief work for the Master personally, 


78 


much as He did during the three years of his public ministry. 
They comprise, however, but a small proportion of church mem- 
bers. The rest of us of necessity must do our best work as our 
Saviour has done His on earth for more than 1800 years, by 
proxy, that is, through others. Thus it comes about that the 
proportion of our income we devote to doing good measures 
the practical Christianity of a very large proportion of us ordi- 
nary laymen. 


“With best wishes, I am, 
“Very truly yours,” 


As already said I have for thirty-seven years been seeking for 
facts as to the results of tithing. The many millions of questions 
sent out and the many thousands of answers received prove beyond 
question that tithing pays. Pays financially. Pays spiritually. Pays 
in personal happiness. Pays in the comfort and happiness of other 
people. In short, pays in every good sense. 

Obeying the law of the Sabbath, the seventh of time pays to 
the same extent and for the same reason. Both are God’s laws. 
The one is His money or property law, the other His time law. 
Both were enacted for man’s benefit. For your personal benefit, 
my reader, and mine. 

The Golden Rule is the best business and social rule ever pro- 
mulgated. It is not only a rule, it is also one of God’s laws, and in 
every sense mentioned above, the observance of it pays. 

You can say “honesty is the best policy” or “tithing pays” with 
your hand and thought on your pocketbook, and there is no religion 
init. Sing it in your heart, make a Te Deum of it, and it expresses 
one of the highest types of practical religion. 


A Closing Word 


It requires no special knowledge of arithmetic to learn from 
‘these pages that the writer is no longer a young man. I have been 
in business continuously for 55 years. Have had my share of both 
gains and losses in business. I have passed through all the panics 
and business depressions since 1858. Have never failed, nor com- 
promised any indebtedness. 


Looking back over those years I recall at least three times when 
- Ican hardly. yet see how I escaped bankruptcy. Of one thing I am 
sure, I could not have escaped if iny bankers and creditors had had 
any doubt of my word. ~ 


This is as good a place as any to say for the benefit of young 
men especially, that it takes many, many years to build up a repu- 
tation for just plain, common honesty. Once acquired, it is the best 
asset any man, more especially any business man, can have. Just 
one dishonest act or business falsehood is all that is necessary to 


79 


break it down. Once broken down an ordinary life time is not long 
enough to rebuild it. 

I have a comfortable home which is still shared by the loving 
wife of my young manhood, and an interest in a business which 
affords us and those dependent upon us a competency. What more 
could we ask that is necessary to real contentment and happiness? 

I have two personal treasures which I prize highly. One a 
gold watch bearing the inscription, “Presented to by his 
employes Christmas, 1882.” The other a gold medal won playing 
golf in my 72nd year. 

While I do not feel any older than I did 20 or 30 years ago, I 
suppose I am in the evening of life. If I am, I find it like the even- 
ing of the day, the pleasantest part. If I had the privilege of 
selecting a block of years out of my life to live over again without 
change, I would unhesitatingly select the years since I was seventy. 


FIVE YEARS LATER 


Preparatory to bringing this Tithing Biography down to 
date, I have just finished reading the foregoing pages. They 
were, in substance, first written some fifteen or more years ago, 
when memory was fresh and I had the data at hand. They 
were revised and rewritten in 1913, five years ago. 

The story, especially the early portion, seems like a dream. 
I can hardly realize that during my lifetime there has been 
such a change in the interest in tithing that these pages reveal. 

I shall not attempt to give in detail my experience during the 
last five years. It would, I am sure, be both unprofitable and 
wearisome. There are now any number of agencies circulating 
tithing literature. Scores, yes hundreds, of books, pamphlets and 
addresses on tithing are being written and published. The sub- 
ject is made prominent at almost every religious convention. 
Conferences, Associations, Presbyteries, etc., are adopting reso- 
lutions in favor of tithing. Several denominations have tithing 
and stewardship secretaries. 

Two Tithing periodicals have been born within the last six 
months. “Men and Money,’* with Harvey Reeves Calkins as 
editor, is the older by a month or two. Dr. Calkins was for- 
merly a missionary in India, where his deservedly popular little 
book, “The Victory of Mary Christopher,’ was first published 
as a serial in a Bombay newspaper. Later he is the author of 
“A Man and His Money,” a standard work on stewardship and 
tithing. 


*“Men and Money,” 740 Rush St., Chicago. 60 cents a year; 50 
cents in clubs; 5 cents single copy. — 


80 ~ 


The first number of “The Tither,’* Burlington, N. C. 
appeared in June, 1918; C. B. Riddle is editor, with five well 
known advocates of tithing, chiefly in the South, as associate 
editors. There is a fine field for this paper in the Southern 
States, where until quite recently the interest in tithing has 

been greater and more general than in the North. 
~. The Laymen’s Missionary Movement has arranged for an 
active tithing propaganda, and with few exceptions the religious 
press has not only ceased to be apathetic but is becoming one of 
the most active and influential agencies in favor of tithing. 

In brief, tithing has apparently gripped the larger part of the 
active, forward looking membership of the church in the United 
States and Canada with a hold that will not let go, 

It is presumptuous to suppose that in these days the public 
will be interested in the details of what any one man is doing or 
trying to do. I will mention only two or three things that-are 
personal. 

A year or two ago the name “Layman” was incorporated under 
the title of “Che Layman Company” for the purpose of providing 
for the continuance of the special work in which I have so long 
been engaged after I cross the river. On its board of directors 
are representatives from nearly all the leading denominations. 
Also about the same time the “America Tithers Union” was 
inaugurated. This is rapidly becoming what was intended, a 
kind of Tithing Clearing House for all denominations. It has 
no officers or machinery of any kind. A record is kept, but 
not for publication, of the number of those who become mem- 
bers but not their names. Also as far as possible, the number 
of new tithers. 

The Layman Company furnishes pledges for membership 
gratis to all who ask for them, but signature to a tithing pledge 
in any church, or application for membership in any tithing 
organization entitles the applicant who will write for them, to 
an engraved certificate of membership in the America Tithers 
Union with his or her name typewritten thereon; also to one 
copy of the 90 page booklet, “Tithing and Prosperity,” which 
includes this autobiography. 

The Layman Company keeps one record with scrupulous 
care. A daily card index is made and filed of the name, address 
and denomination of every minister who orders tithing litera- 
ture for circulation among his people. 

This record is and will be at the service of any denomination 


*“The Tither,” Burlington, N.C. $1.00 per year; sample copies, 
5 cents. 


81 


which has of may in the future establish, a tithing or steward- 
ship department. We already have many thousands of names, 
and every day adds to the list. About 2,500 names of Methodist 
ministers were copied a few davs ago, and forwarded to Dr. 
Cushman at New York. 


Story of Wesley Chapel 


There are two churches in this country that I want to see 
before I cross the river: one of them Wesley Chapel, Cincinnati, 
not, however, for the first time, as I saw it frequently in the early 
60’s when as a country merchant in Indiana, I was in Cincinnati 
buying goods. As I remember it, Wesley Chapel was an unpre- 
tentious building of red brick near the heart of the business dis- 
trict. It was not what its name now implies, a “mission.” From 
the first it was a church, and has long been known as. the 

“Mother of Methodism” in Cincinnati, 

Its crisis came in 1895 when eight people, four men inn their 
wives, met at the home of one of the members to consider its 
desperate financial condition. They had tried all the ordinary 
human means, subscriptions, fairs, suppers, entertainments, grab 
bags, etc., to keep financially afloat. The church lot was very 
valuable, and they had been offered enough for it to build a fine 
church in a good residence district. Many were in favor of the 
sale, but to that little company duty said stay. Finally on their 
knees those eight people promised to try tithing. 

Methods? a will mention only one. A Bible Class was 
started with W. G. Roberts, one of the eight, as teacher, where 
every Sunday morning the one subject of tithing was taught, 
emphasized and explained. That class, with the same teacher, 
and the same subject, has been kept up for twenty-three years. 

Results? Many, of course, all excellent, but I will give only 
one. As already said, the Church is down town. Nearly all the 
members make their living by manual labor. Not more than 
half a dozen own their own homes. The church loses from one- 
fourth to one-third of its membership every year by migration. 
New members about make up this loss but, of course, they have 
to be educated in tithing. Only about one-third of the members 
sign the tithing covenant, and yet Wesley Chapel, in addition - 
to meeting promptly all its other church obligations, has for 
several years given to foreign missions more than twice as much 
as the twelve other down town Methodist churches in Cincin- 
nati combined. 


Another ruetrance : 
In 1899 the janitor of the Englewood Christian Church was 
82 


refused credit for five gallons of gasoline. There are in Chicago 
29 churches and missions of that denomination. .During the 14 
vears from 1903 to 1917 The Englewood Church, not the largest 
or the strongest, gave to City Missionary work more than 60 
per cent of the total contributions of all those 29 churches. 

Last year, 1917, they assumed the support of two more foreign 
missionaries, one in Africa and cone in South America. 

The reason? The pastor, C. G. Kindred, who, by the way, is 
one of the Directors of the Layman Company, has taught tithing 
to his people during all those years. The results are perfectly 
natural. While they keep up their “Every Member Canvas” they 
have changed their slogan to “Every Member a Tither.” Quoting 
Dr. Kindred: ‘The Tithe is an obligation of debt; and one who 
_ is careless or negligent about that is as much a poor citizen in the 
spiritual world as a poor tax payer (tax-dodger) in city life. 
It is the obligation of the Church to make its communicants 
realize this fact.” 

Writing Dr. Kindred’s name recails an incident which I will 
relate. He and I were lunching together one Monday, when 
incidentally I mentioned the interest with which I was reading 
for the third or fourth time “The Meaning of Prayer” by Harry 
E. Fosdick. He had never read it but on the way home he 
purchased a copy. On Saturday he went to Revell’s book store 
and purchased 40 copies, the entire stock on hand. On Sunday 
morning he had them taken to the Church and took prayer as 
the subject of his sermon. At the close of the service, holding 
up one of the books, he explained that he had obtained the 
material for his sermon from that little volume. The people 
eagerly bought them, and ordered 27 more which he supplied 
later. That little volume and another, “The Meaning of Faith,” 
published since by the same author, are by far the most enlighten- 
ing books on Prayer and Faith I have ever read. Both will bear 
re-reading many times. 


Story of The Geneva Church 


The other church I want to see is in Geneva, New York, the 
Methodist. Here the conditions were reversed. Instead of a 
modest building in the heart of a large city business district, here, 
in 1915, was a beautiful edifice, the only Methodist church ina 
prosperous city of 20,000 people, costing with the lot over $150,- 
000, but with a debt of $82,000 and a constantly increasing deficit 
each year in trying to meet current expenses. This was the 
condition faced by the new pastor in 1915. 

Differing only in minor details, the pastor and a few of his 
members decided, like Wesley Chapel, to try stewardship reduced 


83 


to practice by tithing. Its beginning was a sermon by the pastor 
from the text ‘The Tithe is the Lord’s,” with the emphasis on the 
verb. At the close of the sermon 125 persons came forward and 
joined the tithers covenant. The next night the district superin- 
tendent, with the pastor, met in conference with the official 
boards of-the church. After two hours discussion tithing was 
officially adopted as the financial System of the church, and 36 
of the 40 members present joined the tithers covenant and, due 
to repeated tithing teaching, within five weeks 25 more had 
joined. A few months later a second tithing campaign was con- 
ducted, resulting, in a total enrollment of 265 tithers. 

Now will the reader please notice the order jn which these 
events occurred? Only seven persons knew that the pastor was 
going to preach on tithing, that first Sunday morning, and, of 
course, he had the aid of their believing prayers during the ser- 
mon. It was the next night that the district superintendent, with 
the pastor, met in conference with the church officers, when 36 
out of 40 present joined the movement. 

Now suppose that pastor had followed the usual method and 
called the official boards together beforehand to discuss what he 
proposed to do. Would he have succeeded ? Emphatically No. 
If he had tried it, a divided church would very probably have been 
the result. I do not know the facts, but it is a perfectly safe guess 
that aside from the seven persons above mentioned a very large 
majority of that first 125 who came forward were young people, 
women and children, many of whom had no regular income. 
But, and this is the important point, I do not believe that there is 
a church board in America where even a decent minority would 
vote against tithing as the best financial system in the church 
after they have seen a reasonable proportion of the young people, 
Sunday-School teachers and women of the church come forward 
and agree to adopt it. On the other hand, I doubt if there is 
in America an official board in a church of average financial 
condition a majority of whom will agree to adopt tithing at the 
solicitation of the pastor without having seen some such practical 
evidence of the results of preaching as are above related. 

The reason? There are several, but I will give only two. 
The first is Age. It is history that Harvey, the discoverer of 
the circulation of the blood, said before his death that he had 
never been able to convince any one over forty of the truth 
of his theory. Most men’s habits-and opinions harden before 
they are forty, and most church officers are men of mature 
years. Second: Can you reasonably expect that a body of 
church officers will vote advising their pastor to preach tithing 
when they themselves do not practice it? 


84 


That debt is not yet paid, but $35,000 reduction the first two 
years is sufficient evidence that it will soon be wiped out. 


Tithing Catching 

Optimistic physicians tell us (if I were a physician that would 
be my school) that health is contagious. 

Tithing is conclusive evidence of spiritual health, produces it 
im fact. Central New York conference so rapidly caught the 
Geneva type that within six months 10,000 Tithing Stewards 
were enrolled. They call it the “First Legion” of a Million 
Tithers in Methodism, 

Of course as the movement spread, a leader became’a neces- 
sity, and naturally that Geneva pastor, Ralph S. Cushman, to 
the great regret of his people, had to obey the summons and 
become the Executive Chairman of the new “Department of 
Stewardship and Tithing,” -in the Methodist Episcopal Church, 

I write the word “leader” above, but Dr. Cushman is not the 
leader. He recognizes that he is only being used in that capac- 
ity. God is the real Leader in this greatest of modern move- 
ments in the Christian Church. 

It is interesting to study the experience of those three 
churches at Cincinnati, Englewood and Geneva, from another 
angle. At Cincinnati it was a question of extinction or removal. 
At Englewood, refusal of credit for five gallons of gasoline was 
the last straw. At Geneva it was tithing or the sheriff. With 
all, it was a question of money. With the two former, a vision 
of the Kingdom soon took the place of money raising; Wesley 
Chapel giving for years twice as much to Foreign Missions 
(the best test we know of unselfish giving) as all the other 
twelve down town Methodist churches combined and Engle- 
wood, more than 60 percent of all the contributions to City 
Missions from the 29 churches of that denomination in Chicago. 
Geneva, for two or three years, will be paying off that debt, 
but already the Kingdom is taking its rightful place in the 
hearts of the members of that church. 

It is the same everywhere and always. ‘Churches and indi- 
viduals who begin tithing for financial reasons very soon change 
their viewpoint, the Kingdom taking first place, and self second. 

Now I hope no reader will mentally criticise those 12 
churches in Cincinnati and 28 in Chicago for their compara- 
tively small gifts to Missions. They rank well with the average, 
pitiful as it is, of their and all other denominations; probably 
as well as the church to which you, my lay reader, belong, and 
to which you, my ministerial brother, preach. I hope further, 
that you will not pity those tithers in Cincinnati, Englewood 


85 


and Geneva, also in all the thousands of other churches in 
America, a portion of whose members are tithers, because, as 
you may imagine, they are impoverishing themselves by such 
liberal giving. There is no truth in long and carefully collected 
statistics if they are not happier and more prosperous financially 
than a corresponding number of non-tithing members of other 
churches in similar financial circumstances. 


The Way Out for the Preacher 


The morning mail on the day this hoe is being written, July 
24th, brought two letters, one from R. S. Ws kup, Montreat, 
N. C.; secretary of the Stewardship Committee of the Southern 
Presbyterian Church. I quote from his letter one sentence: 
“Let a preacher take a bold stand on the subject of tithing and it 
will not be long until his church will follow him. But so long 
as he is afraid of his congregation and will not get a grip on the 
truth himself the church will not make any progress. 

Dr. Walkup is about half right and half wrong. Preachers 
are not afraid of their congregations. ‘They are afraid of the 
leaders of their congregations, their official boards. The people 
are ready and many of them eager to listen to tithing sermons; 
the leaders, as a rule, are not, and the preacher is afraid to 
adventure. 

The fact is that but for this fear a very large proportion of the 
preachers are ready now to teach and preach tithing. But 
they need not fear: there is a way out. Do as Cushman did at 
Geneva. If you have any tithers in your church take them into 
your confidence. Tell them you are going to preach tithing and 
ask them, as he did, to pray for you and for success in results. 

If you have no tithers do your own praving, but go ahead. 
You will not be disappointed. 

There is a common saying that a man’s most sensitive nerve 
is his pocket book. It is not true. Any normal man’s most 
sensitive nerve is his wife and children. If-he is a normal 
church officer, the young people of the church, Sunday school 
children and their teachers, next to his own family, are nearest to 
his heart strings. 

There is not a church board in the United States whose mem- 
bers, when they see their wives and children, the young people 
of the church, the Sunday school teachers and scholars, the 
mechanics and laboring people stand up or otherwise signify their 
intention to become tithers that will say a single word in opposi- 
tion. They may not all join, though some ae them will, deo no 
opposition need be feared. 

Now there is nothing remarkable in this. It is only the sim- 


86 


plest, commonest kind of human nature in action. 
We are, thank God, all human, and none more human than 
preachers and church officers. 


A Baptist Tithing Evangelist < 

The Methodists, however, are not the only large pebbles on 
the tithing beach. In the same mail with Dr. Walkup’s letter 

came one from J]. Fred Eden, Tocoa, Georgia, with a list of 709 
Baptist people who had within the last two or three months 
joined the America Tithers Union, all new tithers. Mr. Eden 
is “Enlistment Worker’ for the Mission Board of the Georgia 
3aptist Convention. 

I quote the following paragraphs from his letter: “TI enclose 
lists of the tithing results in the Churches of some six Associa- 
tions in which I held enlistment campaigns. Will send further 
lists in a few days of some four or five hundred more signers. 

You will never know how much I appreciate your gener- 
osity in sending me so many thousands of pieces of literature, 
nor how much ‘wood your literature has done and is doing. My 
enlistment work (with the aid of your stacks of literature) has 
produced such decided results and has so impressed our Baptist 
leaders in Georgia, that we are launching a “Georgia Baptist 
Tithers League” getting out pledge cards and certificates of 
membership. \Ve are e also printing thousands of “Tithers Pocket 
Memorandum’ Books. Your Tithing literature is responsible 
for my becoming an intensely aggressive propagandist.” 

\ Leaders the Greatest Obstacle 

The entire church of all denominations, as far as leadership 
is concerned, is in the same condition as individual congrega- 
tions. 

Perhaps the greatest obstacle to the progress of tithing hith- 
erto has been the denominational leaders of the church. This 
is easily explained. . 

As a rule they are in the prime of life, or. heyond. In their 
formative vears tithing occupied no such place i in public thought 
as it does now. It was not taught in the seminaries. A majarity 
of the professors either ignored or opposed tithing. It is un- 
natural to expect that at this late day the leaders would about 
face and suddenly become advocates of tithing, or anything else 
for that matter, to which they have so long been indifferent or 
opposed. 

In this classification of leaders I do not mean to include the 
active pastors. In every denomination many of the leaders, the 
dignitaries of various kinds, especially those in the limelight are 


87 


not nearly so close to the plain people, especially the young, as 
are the pastors. As a result they do not so readily sense the 
popular heart. In all great reforms God always moves first upon 
the hearts of the plain people. Leaders are raised up as He needs. 
them. They are results in every great movement, never causes. 

“The Every Member” canvass inaugurated a few years ago 
struck a popular chord and is excellent as a beginning, but it 
has no grip, no staying power. All the pressure is from without. 
It is purely a human expedient and always works well the first 
year. Its fatal weakness is that it has to be repeated each year, 
and very soon the enthusiasm dies down. 


Thirty or more years ago a campaign was inaugurated in 
several denominations for “Systematic Giving.” It failed because 
it did not get anywhere. A man with an income of a thousand 
dollars could systematically give $2.00 a week or 50 cents a week. 
That was followed by a movement for “Systematic Proportionate 
Giving.” It failed for substantially the same reason. It per- 
mitted every man to fix his own proportion. The next was the 
“Every Member Canvass” noted above. 

The present movement in favor of tithing, which is sweeping 
over the country like a prairie fire, especially in the Methodist 
church, is Christian Stewardship reduced to practice by the pay- 
ment of the tithe as an acknowledgment of God’s ownership of 
every thing we possess, and our stewardship for its use. This, 
unlike the others, is. of divine, not human, origin. For that 
reason it has in it all the elements both of success and per- 
manency, That it is succeeding, everybody knows. That the 
success will continue in an accelerating ratio and be-permanent 
is beyond question, 

In the pamphlet “Success and How They Made It,’-a number 
of pastors give in detail the methods by which they succeeded 
in inaugurating tithing in their churches. Different situations 
naturally require different methods. Any pastor interested in 
tithing will find valuable suggestions among these testimonials. 


